Some Sort of Hero
by Shrike Alvaron
Summary: On the fifth anniversary of his sister's death, a young Jolteon named Shrike finds himself thrust into a role he always aspired to, but is unprepared for. Together with a Vulpix from a distant region and his best friend, a Riolu he's known since childhood, Shrike must learn what it truly means to be the hero of his destiny before all of Varlaja can be consumed by darkness.
1. Zeke's Always Right

**-I- _Her Divine Light_ -I- _  
_**

Chapter 1 - Zeke's Always Right

Flames danced and filled the air with smoke, clouding the senses. Grass, brush, trees... All were ablaze. A sudden crack signaled a tree that had given in and collapsed only to be consumed by the inferno. All was burning, all was dying.

"Estelle!"

A Sylveon stood amid the flames, swaying on her weak legs as she looked around for a path out. Her body was covered in scratches, open wounds that oozed out blood only for the liquid to sizzle away in the heat. At the voice her ears rose and she tried to look past the flames, squinting her eyes that sat behind a pair of goggles and kept the smoke out. "Shrike?" she nervously yelled out in response. "Shrike! I told you to get away!"

"I got some wat-AH!"

The scream pierced through her heart, Estelle biting her lip. Desperately she focused, reaching back to the core of her training and centering herself, regaining her calm. Her legs shook less and she let out a breath as she opened her eyes, extending her three remaining ribbons and surrounding herself in them. The stub of her fourth still bled from where it had been torn away moments before.

Surrounded in a shield of her ribbons the Sylveon barreled through the flames in the direction her brother's voice had come from. She felt the fire beating at her improvised barrier, fur and flesh blackening as her remaining ribbons withered away. A few cinders made it through gaps in the shield, landing on her body and singing black spots amid her pink and white fur. The pain was intense; if it wasn't for her training, she probably would have collapsed and perished before she could even escape.

But then the heat fell away behind her and she knew she was out. Lifelessly her ribbons dropped to the ground and trailed at her sides, singed and burned beyond hope of healing. She would care more for their loss if not for what greeted her: an Eevee, her brother, pressed back against a tree with a spilled bucket of water at his feet. He was staring up to the hunkering beast of a Typhlosion that towered over him and was slowly closing the distance. Her own blood was still splattered across its claws and fur, and she could swear she saw strands of flesh from her lost ribbon stuck between those terrifying claws.

Just as the Typhlosion lashed out to launch a stream of fire at her brother, Estelle leaped forward between them. She slapped at the fire stream with her tail, almost crying out in pain as the flames seared at her fur and blistered the flesh underneath. Her intervention was successful, however, the one large stream splitting into two smaller sprays of fire that harmlessly flew past her brother. "Shrike! GET OUT OF HERE!" she desperately yelled again as the fire attack died down and she landed, her legs shaking underneath her from the pain that now wracked her body.

"B-but..." the Eevee whimpered, his eyes turning from his sister to the Typhlosion as it turned to face Estelle, familiarity flickering in its eyes. It remembered her from earlier, and it wanted revenge.

"I said... LEAVE!" Estelle glanced to Shrike, glaring at him in the hope it would get him to obey, but at that moment the beast saw its opportunity. A claw swiped out and slashed across her side, the Sylveon's eyes going wide as she felt it slicing deep down. Flesh and muscle alike were severed underneath the beast's sharp claws, blood spraying in the air. The world seemed to slow down as she fell back, the soft grass doing its best to cushion her impact.

Estelle's vision blurred and wavered as she looked around, the world going silent but for the crackling sound of the fire as it continued to spread. She glanced down at her side and at the wound; she could see her own ribs through the gash. Looking back up she saw the Typhlosion approaching her slowly, Shrike still pressed against the tree with tears in his eyes.

"Run," she mouthed, right as the claw came down again. With it, the world went black.

* * *

Shrike woke with a start, sitting up in his bed. Sweat rolled down through his yellow fur and he was panting heavily. His throat felt as dry as a desert and his heart was racing. He reached up to wipe some sweat off his face as he heard a thundering of footsteps in the hallway outside, the door soon bursting open with enough force he was surprised it didn't fly off its hinges.

"Shrike, I heard screaming! You okay?!" the Riolu who had burst into his room exclaimed as he took up a fighting pose with fists raised, glancing around as if expecting intruders.

Shrike gave a sigh, shaking his head as he slid off his bed and dropped to his feet. "I'm fine, Zeke... Really."

The Riolu narrowed his eyes as if judging Shrike's honesty, before slowly nodding and relaxing. "The nightmare again, then?"

"More of a flashback." Shrike padded over to a window and pulled the shades apart, letting in the dim light of early morning. He looked at his own reflection faintly visible in the glass: a Jolteon, no longer the Eevee from his dream. His loose, shaggy fur was messed up from tossing and turning through the night, Shrike setting about idly brushing at it as he stared out the window with one eye while keeping transfixed on his reflection with the other. "It's been five years today, and I still..."

Zeke slowly walked over to Shrike and put a paw on his shoulder, shaking his head. "You can't expect to just forget. It's normal to remember. You loved her, yeah?"

"She was my sister, of course I did..." Shrike was quiet for a moment before sighing, reaching up to brush Zeke's paw off him. "It was from her perspective this time."

"Oh? Learn anything new?" Zeke turned to watch Shrike as the Jolteon silently walked over to a dresser, picking up the pair of goggles that rested atop it and rubbing his digits over them. Shrike could swear they still held her scent. That, and the smell of smoke and ashes.

"She died before I blacked out. That's when I woke up."

The Jolteon took a deep breath, closing his eyes and centering himself, doing his best to let his emotions wash off him and steel his nerves. Just as his sister had taught him. Going through the motions he pulled the goggles over his head, letting them rest above his eyes and out of his vision while he didn't need them. Then he opened a drawer and took out a long, plain red scarf. He tied it around his neck, letting it flow down at his side. Walking back over to the window he looked out it again, this time focusing more closely as he used his white paws to groom his fur back into shape. The white paws were an abnormality for Jolteon, but one he had since he was an Eevee.

The town of Woodhurst was just starting to come to life outside the window, Pokemon emerging from the surrounding houses and rushing off through the town's narrow pathways to wherever they worked. Most people were heading in the direction of the merchant district, however some left towards the town gates, heading out to the nearby logging camp or to join up with hunting parties in the woods.

"So, you better now?" Zeke asked, startling Shrike who had zoned out and forgotten the Riolu was still there.

"As better as I'll ever be." Shrike tilted his head and shrugged, before turning to face his housemate. "Guess I'm going for a walk now. You know where. Seeya later."

Shrike didn't wait for Zeke to say anything, walking past him. Yet before he could get out the door he felt the Riolu's paw fall on his shoulder again. "Be careful out there, something's going down today."

"See it in my Aura?"

"Not just yours," Zeke replied with a shake of his head. "In everyone's. It's in the air."

"I'll keep it in mind," and with that Shrike was out the door, walking through their small apartment and out the front entrance. Theirs was on the second story of a shared building, with another floor below and above where other Pokemon lived. He gave a nod to a neighbor exiting below him as he descended the steps to ground level, before turning in the direction few were heading: the town gate.

* * *

The woods were quiet but for the chirping of birds. It was easy to feel calm and at ease while in them, as if the trees were great, stalwart guardians protecting you from danger. Indeed, many believed the trees WERE sacred, that they were to be protected and worshiped. Naturally that conflicted with Woodhurst's, and Whiteholt's as a whole, logging industry. Shrike chose not to take a side in such matters.

The Jolteon lowered his head as he walked, focusing inwards and clearing his mind. The central teaching he had always learned from his sister, and her from her own teachers before, was to keep your mind clear. With a clear mind, you could see and judge without bias, observe the smallest details that otherwise you could miss. Such as the smell of ash and fire drifting across Shrike's nose at that very moment.

With a start his ears shot up and he rose his head, looking around and sniffing for the source. Quickly he ran off in the direction he thought it was coming from, paws beating at the soft earth.

 _You always charge headlong into danger, don't you?_

When he emerged from the trees, it wasn't fire he found. A large swath of land blackened and burnt, yet cold, awaited him. The fire was long gone, leaving a spot nothing would grow in anymore. A knot rose in Shrike's throat as the smell drifted away on the winds of his imagination, and the Jolteon's legs shook until he collapsed out of weakness. Every year on this day he visited this place, the dead part of the forest where the feral Typhlosion had taken his sister's life from him. It never got easier.

His eyes drifted over the death before him. One half of him was surprised it had never healed, the other half doubted it would ever change. The grass that hadn't just blown away lay in scattered clumps, while collapsed trees crossed the open clearing in various states of rot. All of it black and singed.

Gathering his energy Shrike stood up again, walking slowly through it all. Once at the center of the carnage he spun around in a circle, looking at the surrounding woods and trying to make sense of it compared to his previous nightmare. Finally his eyes came to rest on a particular tree, familiarity rising. Slowly walking over to it he slumped down against it, the same tree he had huddled against while he watched the beast kill his own sister. Shaking he turned to look at the spot he now clearly remembered she had died at... Only for his eyes to meet a Vulpix, curiously watching him.

"This isn't your first time here, is it?" she asked. Shrike remained silent as he looked over her, noticing the thin yellow ribbon tied closely around her neck so there was no slack, a silver pendant attached to it. Along with her speech, it was safe to say she wasn't feral.

"No," he simply answered as he stood up again, partially relieved that her appearance had interrupted him from dwelling anymore on his sister's death while annoyed she had interrupted his yearly ritual. "I've... Been here before."

"Mmm... A great tragedy happened here..." the Vulpix closed her eyes, something strange seeming to overcome her. When her eyes opened again they had an odd blue glow, which soon faded to their former gold. "Death."

Shrike kept his mouth closed for a moment more, but the Vulpix seemed to be looking at him expectantly. "My sister," he finally said, turning away from her.

The Vulpix gave a curt, respectful nod before walking over to him and then around where he stood to face him once more. "I'm sorry," she said, the apology in her voice real.

"It happened five years ago." Shrike sighed as he pressed a paw to his forehead, before shaking his head out. Who was this girl, and what was she doing here? "Zeke was right, wasn't he..." he mumbled to himself.

"Who's that?" the strange Vulpix asked, Shrike rolling his eyes.

"Not important. Now what is, is who you are." He stated it factually, not letting her back away from answering.

"Celine," she replied with a smile, not even trying to avoid the question. The six curly tails behind her rose in the air and she bowed her body down towards Shrike. "I'm a traveler, I hear there's a town nearby?"

"Y-yeah, I live there. Suppose I should take you to it?" While he still felt his sister's death at the back of his mind, as he had every day for the past five years, Shrike was in some ways grateful for this odd interruption. Something to take his mind off things. "Kinda weird for a traveler to be this far from the roads, though..." he mumbled under his breath.

"That would be helpful!" Celine smiled and bowed again. Shrike glanced around to reorient himself before nodding in the direction he had come from. He began walking, hearing Celine following behind him.

"So where'd you come from? Definitely not from around here, I'd say."

The Vulpix swayed her head and tails from side to side for a moment, before finally answering, "Falonde. It's been a bit of a long walk."

That froze Shrike in his tracks, the Jolteon's eyes wide as he looked back to Celine as if she was an alien from space. "Falonde, as in the region like, all the way on Varlaja's west coast? Like, a month's journey from here?"

"Yep!" she cheerfully replied.

"How'd you get all the way over here? Why? ...You're telling me about this later," he stated, once more not giving her a chance to refuse, before turning back around and continuing their walk to town.

 _Zeke's always right..._

* * *

"Your villages are so different here!"

Celine was staring around in awe as she walked through Woodhurst at Shrike's side. Rather abruptly she stopped, rearing up on her hind legs and stared straight up at the sky. She cocked her head curiously and squinted at the light, commenting, "We can't see the sky back home."

She seemed to be waiting expectantly again, so Shrike humored her, "Why's that?" he asked as he gave her a shove on the back to knock her to her feet, moving onwards again.

"The trees. Falonde is heavily forested throughout, there's no plains and the clearings are too small to build much in. So, we build in the trees themselves." She spoke as they walked, the pair soon finding themselves in a circular plaza centered around a fountain. Benches were distributed in a circle facing the fountain, Shrike motioning Celine over to one and taking a seat on it with her.

"So... Treehouses. Well, we're pretty much like everyone else and just... Build on the ground." Shrike shrugged as he waved a paw around to gesture at the buildings that surrounded the park.

"Yeah, and there's so few trees..." Celine fell quiet, kicking her legs in the air as she fiddled with the pendant on her ribbon. Discreetly she looked up and around at the Pokemon walking through the plaza, her eyes falling on a group of kids playing in the fountain.

"Trees?" Shrike looked over at Celine and cocked his head curiously. "Well, this is a logging town. Look around you some more." More pointedly, Shrike raised a paw to motion at the buildings again; they were mostly made of wood, with some stone and bricks. "We care for trees a lot, it's just that it's most people's business here to cut them down." He could see that Celine still looked off and shook his head. "Don't worry though, we're not in the business of destroying forests. We replant what we cut down and that little... Scene, you saw... Well, it was an accident..."

"Yes..." she finally spoke again. "I could feel the spirit of the one who caused it. They were a fire type, were they not? Something... Ferocious. Feral? Not of the same intelligence you and I share."

Shrike was a bit stunned, involuntarily pulling away from Celine. "Wait, what'd you say? You felt their... Spirit?"

She blinked, tilting her head from one side to the other before quickly nodding. "Oh, right. I forgot. In Falonde, we have an affinity with the dead. We learn to commune with them, and can feel their presence. I could feel the two spirits who died back there. Your sister, and the feral one."

Shrike's fur had gone stiff, standing on end and making the normally fluffy Jolteon decidedly pointier. His mouth moved as if trying to put together words, yet nothing came out. His vision shook as he stared at Celine until he gulped and desperately tried to center himself again, letting out a series of ragged breaths.

"I'm sorry, did I say something wrong...?" Celine asked with genuine concern, reaching a paw out to Shrike before he raised one of his own to ward her off. He was finally getting his breathing back under control and shook his head out.

"St-static... Be-est not... To touch..." With one final breath he felt himself returning, hopping off the bench and nodding at Celine. "Follow me."

Quickly he ran off through the streets, dodging left and right to avoid running into anyone on the way. He glanced back to make sure Celine was following and keeping pace with him, the Vulpix seeming nearly as swift on her paws as the Jolteon was. Nearly.

Twisting through Woodhurst's streets he finally reached his home again, sprinting up the stairs and yanking the door open. Celine blinked as she could see sparks leaping from the Jolteon's paw to the door handle, finding it hot to the touch when she followed him up and grabbed it herself. Shrike's eyes locked on an exposed metal support beam in the corner of the living room as he stepped inside, Celine just walking through the door behind him when a burst of electricity shot from the stiff-furred Jolteon and hit the pole with blinding ferocity. The surprise knocked Celine down and sent her mind whirling; when she came to the air itself seemed charged with static as well now, but Shrike's fur had dropped back to normal at least.

Celine looked on in amazement as she got to her feet. "...If I had touched you...?"

"Probably would have needed to take you to the medic. I sort of lost control of my electrical generation there."

"Not the first time!" a voice piped up, Celine turning to look in curiosity while Shrike stared daggers at the Riolu sitting in a chair, eating something out of a bowl. Probably his post-workout breakfast to be exact, judging from the sweat beaded through his fur. "Who's your lady friend?"

"Celi-" she started, only to be interrupted by Shrike himself.

"No one you need to know. Don't you have work or anything to do today?"

Zeke shrugged, setting his bowl down as he hopped off the chair and walking into the small kitchen, grabbing an apple from a basket. Shrike noticed he had adorned white wrist wraps that left his prominently pointed spikes exposed as well as a yellow sash around the waist; he was either expecting a fight or planned to start one; not the best sign. "Called off. Don't want to miss whatever's gonna happen." Casually he tossed the apple to Celine, the Vulpix fumbling to raise her front paws in the air and catch it without falling on her face.

"Something's going to happen?" Celine asked, bewildered by what all was happening right now, let alone what would happen later. Awkwardly she took a bite of the apple, watching as Shrike and Zeke began to bicker.

"He fancies himself a fortune teller because of his mysterious Aura sensing," Shrike said in a mocking tone, raising his paws to wiggle them at the sides of his head where a Riolu's Aura sensors would be.

"Hey man, don't knock the Aura!" Zeke replied indignantly. "Just because you can't see something doesn't mean it doesn't exist."

As Shrike and Zeke went at it for a few minutes more, Celine tried to raise her voice to interject. "Um, uh, ah..." She went, until finally raising a paw which seemed to catch the two roommates' attention. Taking a breath she quickly spoke, "Aura is a subset of Aether, the energy that courses through the world and binds us all. Indeed, Aether makes up everything living or not, while wrapping those of us who are for lack of a better term alive in an 'aura' of energy. This is, of course, the Aura your friend's talking about. Certain Pokemon such as Riolu and its evolved form Lucario can naturally sense these Auras and the fluctuations in them, and many cultures believe that these fluctuations do indeed relate to prophecies of future events. No proof exists of these beliefs, but at the same time there is no proof against them."

Shrike and Zeke stared at her in stunned silence for a moment, Celine nervously chuckling as she idly swished her tails. "I... Sort of learned a lot about Aether and thus Aura back in Falonde."

"Dude, she's from Falonde?" Zeke turned to Shrike to ask, the Jolteon giving a nod. "Like, the place a month's journey from here." Another nod.

"You don't get many visitors from far here, do you?" Celine asked, looking somewhat put off by another person being surprised at where she was from.

"No, not really." Shrike replied with a shake of his head. "But yes, Zeke this is Celine. Celine, this is Zeke. Now Zeke, can you please give us ten?"

Zeke raised a brow and gave a sensual growl at the implications of Shrike wanting to spend time alone with a girl. "All right all right, just don't wear yourself out kid."

"I'm just a few months younger than you! Out!" Shrike practically screamed, his face flushed red much to Zeke's amusement. The Riolu needed no more warnings as he jogged out the door, grabbing his bowl from where he had left it before waving a paw in the air behind him.

Shrike seemed to sag as he slammed the door closed behind Zeke, turning to find the Vulpix giggling with a paw to her mouth. "Does he think...?"

"You quickly learn not to pay much attention to what he thinks," Shrike flatly said, declining from adding that Zeke's predictions do have tendency to be right, as much as he hated to admit it.

"So why were you in a hurry before? I take it you live here?" Celine turned around to take the place in, which she hadn't really got a chance at earlier. The home was simple, with an open sitting area with some chairs and table attached to a small kitchen. A short hallway with doors set in the walls led to the bed and bathrooms she assumed.

"Well, aside from the fact that I was carrying enough static in my fur to fry another Pokemon..." Shrike paced back and forth in front of a fireplace as he thought, before pulling off the goggles and scarf he was wearing and setting them on a low table. "What you said about there being two spirits... It can't be right."

Celine walked forward, looking at the fireplace before spitting a small ember at the logs that sat in it. They began to dance with flames, slowly at first before building up. Shrike grimaced as he watched them, refraining from telling Celine that he had refused to light it in all the five years since his sister's death.

"It is," she finally said as she sat down in front of the growing fire, its warmth quickly building and spreading through the room. "Why would you think otherwise?"

In silence Shrike dropped into one of the chairs, picking up the goggles from where he had sat them and rubbing his paws over their lenses to wipe a streak off. His mood seemed different as he looked over to where Celine sat in front of the fire, the Vulpix looking back at him. "Before I talk about that, I have to ask. Why are you here?"

"As I said, I'm a traveler," Celine shrugged. "My travels took my here, and I was hoping to find food and shelter for a few days before heading back out."

"I'd believe that if, as I said, it wasn't for us not getting many travelers here. We're out of the way, off any major routes, and the area is dense enough with ferals that exploration is ill-advised. Either you're lost, the craziest explorer I've ever met, or you're looking for something here."

Celine kept her silence for a minute as she and Shrike stared at each other, the fire flickering and spreading its warmth through the cool room. Finally she spoke, slowly, "Yes, I suppose you could say I've come here looking for someone. I've been following their Aether... Echo, I suppose you can call it. We all leave an impression in the Aether, but this person's is much, much larger than most, resonating much farther. It doesn't reach forever, though; from back home, in Falonde, I couldn't feel it. So I journeyed out, seeking to catch a glimpse. Finally I could feel it near the border of Freyden and Whiteholt, and now I'm getting close to its source."

Shrike frowned, rubbing his paws together. He didn't really understand all this Aether stuff Celine kept talking about, but he found that, for some reason, he did trust her to be telling the truth. "So who is this person?"

Celine gave a wry smile, answering with only, "Someone of great importance."

Shrike looked at her more, feeling his head tilting to the side before he shook it out and smiled. "Yeah, you're not telling me anymore are you? Well, I hope you can find them soon. Dunno if I can be much help, but feel free to ask if you need anything. I guess I do owe you an explanation as well." The Jolteon took a breath, leaning his head back against the chair's headrest as he looked up at the ceiling. Digging it up like this... It was hard, but at least he was starting to get used to reliving the past today.

"I know it's impossible for the feral Typhlosion to have died as I was there when it happened. Estelle, she was my sister, and I were out training. She had always been a fighter, but I was too young then for any formal training myself. So, she would take me out into the woods to teach me what she knew off the records."

Shrike took a long, deep breath and closed his eyes, feeling it all coming back to him...


	2. I Will Protect You

**-I-** _ **Her Divine Light**_ **-I-  
**

Chapter 2 - I Will Protect You

"Remember, fighting with a fogged mind will only lead to your downfall. Clear yourself of distractions, distance yourself from emotions."

A Sylveon sat up on her hind legs atop a stump, her eyes closed and ribbons floating gracefully in the air around her. Next to her on an adjacent stump an Eevee sat much the same, with his legs hanging over the edge and heels kicking against the dry bark.

"Oh come on sis... I just want to learn how to attack and other cool things!" Swiping his white paws at the air in front of him he made playful attack noises, laughing as his sister, Estelle, opened her eyes and sighed.

"I know you do, Shrike, but this is important. Your mental state is just as crucial when it comes to battle as your physical is." She extended her ribbons over to the Eevee and grabbed his paws, pushing them down into his lap. "Please? Can you just try to focus?"

Shrike grumbled, looking downwards before glancing over to his sister. She was looking at him with genuine concern, her blue eyes a match for his own even framed by the goggles she always seemed to wear. "All right..." he finally caved in, stopping his kicking. Estelle rewarded him with a smile and let his paws go, closing her eyes again though not before peeking at Shrike and ensuring he was doing the same.

The two siblings sat quietly for a few minutes more only to soon be interrupted by a tiny squeak. Estelle sighed and cracked her eyes open expecting Shrike to be playing around again, only to find a small Cyndaquil sitting amid the grass and looking up at them.

"Aw, it's cute! What's your name?" Shrike exclaimed as he leaped up and off his stump.

"Wait, Shrike! Leave it alone!" Estelle yelled, but it was too late. Shrike had already reached out to the Cyndaquil with a paw, the small Pokemon nervously taking a step backwards only for the Eevee to reach out and pat it on its head.

The Cyndaquil let out a flurry of squeaks at the touch, running away and disappearing into the brush. Shrike blinked in surprise and looked at his paw, then back to Estelle. "What's his problem?"

"That wasn't a kid from the village, it was a feral Pokemon. We should leave now," She warily looked around as she grabbed one of Shrike's paws with a ribbon, turning to drag him away when it hit.

It was lightning fast, surprisingly so for its size. Neither Shrike nor Estelle had any idea it was coming right up until the moment it slashed down, claws tearing straight the ribbon tethering siblings together.

Estelle screamed as she stumbled and collapsed to her side, grasping at the torn ribbon. It took a moment more for Shrike to realize what had happened as the severed ribbon fell slack around his arm, but when he realized it was no longer connected to his sister his scream nearly matched hers. Falling down he frantically stumbled through the ground to get away from the severed limb, and that was when he caught sight of what had attacked them.

The Typhlosion was the single largest Pokemon Shrike had ever seen, towering over the both of them, even big enough to eclipse some of the musclebound loggers that worked back in Woodhurst. Its eyes were fixed on Shrike as a low growl ripped from its throat, fresh blood still staining its claws.

Just as the Typhlosion readied a burst of flame, Estelle leaped in front of Shrike and wove her remaining ribbons into a shield in front of her. Flames battered the shield and flowed off from its edges, Estelle digging her feet into the ground as the force was strong enough to push her backwards.

"Get away from here!" she yelled, glancing over her shoulder at Shrike as he continued crawling backwards through the dirt. His body quivered as he shook his head.

"I-I can't... Can't leave you..."

With one last blast of flames Estelle was finally uprooted, the Sylveon pulling her shield apart and using the ribbons to lash out at the Typhlosion as she stumbled backwards. Their edges now sharp as a razor they sliced across the Typhlosion's arms, drawing another roar from the beast as it swiped out and plucked the smaller Pokemon off the ground while she was off balance. Wheeling its arm back it threw her over their shoulder, the Sylveon tumbling through the dirt as stick and stones slashed open cuts all over her body.

The Typhlosion turned to focus on Shrike again, drool dripping from its enormous fangs as it slowly approached him. The Eevee's eyes dripped with tears, but before the Typhlosion could hurt him Estelle's ribbons lashed out again. This time they wrapped around the Typhlosion's shoulders and one leg, tugging backwards until the beast was toppled and fell down on its back with a great thud.

"Run! Shrike, please! I can handle this!" Estelle pleaded, but it didn't work. Shrike knew she was lying, that if he left he would never see her again.

The Typhlosion glanced between the siblings as it stood up until its eyes locked on the Sylveon. Estelle breathed a sigh of relief and stood her ground as her three remaining ribbons were raised into battle position, facing down the beast. Yet it seemed to be learning and didn't go for a head-on attack this time. Instead, when the Typhlosion's mane of fire flared with a roar, it began blasting streams of flame at the grass and shrub around her.

Shrike could practically see Estelle's fur rising as the grassy clearing quickly went up in flames, rising so high he could no longer see her through them. "E-Estelle!" he yelled, shaking and rolling to his feet. "I... I'll be right back! There's a well nearby!"

Off Shrike ran, tears streaming from his eyes. He wasn't leaving her though, no. He had to do what he could to help, and now that meant getting some water to put out the blaze. He quickly made his way to the nearby well and drew up the bucket, grabbing the handle in his teeth and straining to carry it back the way he had come. He knew it alone wouldn't be enough, but if he made several trips...

When he got back the Typhlosion was gone, Shrike feeling his heart twist into a knot. Surely, she couldn't be... "Estelle!" he frantically called out, desperate for a response.

"Shrike?" he heard her voice yell from amid the flames, the Eevee sighing in relief. "Shrike! I told you to get away!"

"I got some wat-AH!"

Shrike was interrupted by the reappearance of the Typhlosion, the beast charging out from the trees and heading straight towards him. In his fright Shrike dropped and knocked over the bucket as he pulled himself back against a tree, biting his lips as he saw the water soak into the earth.

Just when it seemed the Typhlosion was on top of him, ready to end his life, a blur of white and pink shot out of the flames. His heart practically sung with joy as he saw it was Estelle, her ribbons woven in a sphere around her. Charred and blackened from the flames the ribbons fell lifelessly to the ground, but still Estelle leaped into the air and spun around to slap her tail at the stream of fire the Typhlosion had blasted at Shrike. She screamed in pain as the flame burnt the fur off her tail and blistered the flesh beneath, but the sacrifice was successful in diverting the flames around the small Eevee. "Shrike! GET OUT OF HERE!"

"B-But..." his lips quivered, eyes glancing between his sister and the Typhlosion. No, not like this...

"I said... LEAVE!" she roared at him, turning her eyes away from the beast. When it struck the world seemed to fall still. Those claws sliced deep into Estelle's sides, deep enough that Shrike could swear he saw sparks where the claws scraped against ribs. The force knocked her back amid a spray of blood, Shrike mouthing a scream but his throat too hoarse and dry to make the proper sound.

His world was a daze as he saw the Typhlosion slowly walk over to his sister, the Sylveon lying in a growing puddle of her own blood. He would never forget that moment, looking at her and seeing her mouth that word, "run". Nor the next moment, when the Typhlosion's claw once again came down, digging into the already open wound and ravaging her chest. Her body leapt into the air with the force, but when it came down she was still and quiet. Shrike stared at his sister's body with wide eyes, feeling something rising inside him as the Typhlosion continued to ravage her corpse. Anger, hate, fear, regret... All at once he felt it bubbling to the surface, and then just as it had for her, the world went black.

* * *

"...You blacked out?" Celine spoke as the story died down, seeing how heavily the recollection had weighed upon Shrike. He was breathing slowly, gripping those goggles tightly. Hesitantly he nodded.

"When I woke up again the fire was out and the Typhlosion gone. All that remained was... Her corpse. With these, still somehow intact..." he stared down at the goggles as he said it. "The last remnant I have of her..."

Celine pursed her lips in thought, running the scenario as Shrike had told it through her mind. Finally she said, "So, you're saying, you don't believe the Typhlosion could have died as you didn't see it, yet... You did fall unconscious, so what keeps it from dying after you blacked out?"

"I'm saying that..." Shrike fumbled about, trying to come up with what to say before relenting and burying himself deeper into his chair. "I'm saying that I have no idea what happened after I blacked out. I thought it had just assumed I was dead and so left. It never occurred to me that... Somehow, it died."

Celine could tell his frustration was growing as Shrike slid out of the chair and began pacing back and forth, his fur occasionally bristling with static that would be released in an arc towards the exposed pole. "How even? Estelle was DEAD, I saw her die. It's not like she came back to life and killed it. Was there someone else? Did someone else come and kill them? And then just LEAVE me there?"

"There's another possibility."

"Eh?" Shrike grunted, stopping his pacing to look at Celine as she gave a smirk.

"You never blacked out. You killed it, but locked away your memory of doing so."

Shrike was silent for a moment, Jolteon staring at Vulpix blankly. Then he burst out into laughter, falling backwards and catching himself on the arm of a chair. "Hah, good one! I mean, me? Kill that thing? I couldn't even hit other kids my age back then, I barely had gotten any training in! Maybe NOW I could at least TRY to hurt it, but when I was an Eevee? You're out of your mind!"

Celine gave a knowing smirk but simply shrugged. "Doesn't hurt to keep an open mind, does it? Perhaps it had a sudden and rather inconveniently late stroke, perhaps a wandering hunter took it down, or perhaps you found a well of inner strength and killed it in your lust for vengeance."

"Even then, what happened to the body? There certainly weren't any dead Typhlosion lying around when I came to," Shrike pointed out, still refusing to believe Celine's joke.

"Now that's a mystery for the ages." She smiled at him and raised her paws into the air, Shrike letting out a breath and shaking his head. He was right, there was no way he could have killed it.

Still, something was bugging Shrike, nagging the back of his mind. He looked into the fire as he thought back to when he had been talking to Celine before. Slowly he spoke, "All that aside... You mentioned communing with the dead?"

Her expression immediately changed, growing somber. It was clear she knew what Shrike had in mind, but still she tried to divert him. "I couldn't ask the Typhlosion how it died if that's what you're getting at." She shook her head, the curls of fur sitting between her ears bounding lightly. "Feral Pokemon... They're completely different from you and I and that includes language. I could ask them a question but any answer I got would be unintelligible to us, if it would even have meaning."

"What about Estelle then? Could you talk to her?" Shrike pushed at it, beating back Celine's deflection. He leaped up and dashed over to the Vulpix, standing in front of her. "Could I talk to her? Just one more time..."

Celine gave a heavy sigh. She always dreaded when this subject came up. "That question is a lot more difficult to answer than one would expect. Communing with a soul isn't like asking a friend how their day went, after all. When someone dies, their soul departs from their body and becomes one with what we call the Aetheric Flow, a current of Aether that blows through the world like wind. This means that the soul of a specific person at best may not be anywhere near here, but at worse... Well, with it being five years since she died it's probably already dissipated, spread thin across the world and essentially become one with all the other departed. To pluck her out of the millions, perhaps even billions that have died before... It would take someone much stronger than me." Celine frowned before shaking her head, looking up at Shrike with apologizing eyes.

"O-oh..." Shrike looked down to the ground and his feet, slumping down and giving a sigh. "I had just thought, well..."

Celine watched in silence as the Jolteon's eyes grew wet, tears forming in their corners that he tried to blink away. He didn't want to look weak in front of someone he'd known for just a few hours, but it was hard to keep it all in. "It's been so long, and she was... Without parents she wasn't just a sister..." He quietly explained, rapidly blinking to keep the tears from flowing.

"You know... I didn't say it was impossible."

Shrike's eyes immediately darted to her, staring at Celine with those bright blue eyes he had shared with his sister. He stayed silent as Celine continued, "I assume you've heard of how, well, magical Falonde is? The Aetheric Flow is strongest there, twisting and turning to such an extent the concentration of Aether is several times greater than in other regions, such as here in Whiteholt. This means the concentration of departed souls, even ones who have spread thin with age is highest there. Lastly, my master... She's one of, if not the best at the manipulation of Aether. Five years may be a stretch even for her, but if anyone can do it, it would be her."

The nearly crying Jolteon remained silent, sniffling back the tears now. Slowly he reached up to wipe at his eyes with the back of a paw, squeezing his goggles tightly in the other. "I've never left before. Never traveled... I wouldn't know what to do, or where to go."

"I will be returning there shortly once I have seen to my affairs here, if you wish you can come with me. There's only one catch: to commune with the dead, you need something that was important to them." Celine glanced to the goggles Shrike held and gave a nod, "You said those were recovered from her corpse? I believe they should work."

The Jolteon was breathless, his tears drying up as he raised the paw holding his, no, his sister's goggles and looked between them and Celine. "So, if I travel with you for a month, bring these to your master... I can talk to Estelle?"

The Vulpix twitched her tails, pausing for a moment. "It's not guaranteed. Five years is a long time, there's no telling what if anything remains of her soul to be talked to. It may be too much even for the greatest witch in Falonde."

"But there's a chance."

"Yes."

Shrike sat in thought, tumbling the idea over in his head. It wasn't like he didn't want to travel, indeed he had always yearned to leave Woodhurst and see the world beyond these wooden walls and the surrounding forests. Then, getting to talk to his sister one more time, to tell her how sorry he was that his ignorance had gotten her killed? To tell her how much she meant to him, and show her all the effort he had put in to live up to her even when she was gone?

Yet... Looking at Celine, Shrike realized just how little he knew of this mysterious Vulpix that had conveniently shown up at the site of Estelle's death, and who he had now taken into his house and was considering journey with to the far reaches of the land. He barely knew this Celine, not even what she was looking for that she'd come all the way out here. She seemed nice and felt honest, but could he really trust her enough to travel with her?

"When will you be leaving?" He finally asked, keeping his eyes looking down to the floor.

"That's hard to say. I'll probably stay a few days, but it may be less or even longer. If you want to travel with me, I really need an answer today."

"All right... Today, huh?" Shrike stood up on all four legs, shifting his balance to just three as he extended a paw out to Celine. "I need to check in with some people later, but I'm inclined to say yes."

Celine stared at Shrike's extended paw for a moment as if she didn't know what to do with it. Finally she seemed to grasp the gesture, leaning forward to take Shrike's paw in her own. "Well, I'd be glad to have the company on the way back if you do come. You'll be alone on the return trip though, you realize?"

"One of the things I want to check in about," Shrike smiled and gave a nod towards the door to Zeke's room. "Would a third person weigh you down?"

"Zeke? Hmm, I was wanting to talk to him, but I don't think it'd be a problem." Celine stood up and stretched out her body, extinguishing the fireplace with a wave of her tails despite how little wind she generated. "But enough about that. How about you show me around some more?"

* * *

Woodhurst had changed since the morning as the people mostly settled into their daily routines. Kids ran along the streets and dashed down alleys between the tightly packed buildings, while adults sat inside shops or behind wooden stalls doing everything from cooking food, tailoring clothes, running inns, or just hawking their wares. Shrike and Celine spent hours wandering through the streets, poking their heads into a shop here or there and grabbing a bite to eat for lunch at one of Shrike's favorite cafés.

Shrike led Celine around with the ease of someone who had lived there all his life. Past the shops, they made their way to the great walls that surrounded the town and out a small door that led directly to the logging camp outside. He nodded to a few workers he recognized but let them go about their business; meanwhile Celine marveled at the strong Pokemon who could carry one or more logs all by themselves and the teams of Pokemon who would work together to cut the logs into smaller pieces.

Back inside the walls they went, the sun having long since crested and beginning its journey down to the horizon. Still there was much left to the day, Shrike almost pulling Celine along as he led her into the heart of the town. The buildings rose taller and stronger around them, more stone now used in their construction to support their greater size. At Woodhurst's heart was the largest of them all, a towering five-story building that Shrike explained to be Town Hall, the center of all government there in Woodhurst.

"It really is different here from back home." Celine murmured, glancing down and kicking a stray rock, watching it skitter across the cobblestone path. "Even just having the ground under your feet..."

"Still seems odd to me that you live in trees. I mean, how do you deal with, well... Plumbing?" Shrike nodded at a small pump that sat alongside the road as they passed, one kid grabbing the handle and hopping up and down to pump it while another splashed around under the faucet as water poured out.

"We carry buckets of water up as needed, of course," she answered, not exactly satisfying Shrike's question but he didn't feel the need to push it anymore.

Continuing on, the pair finally came to what Shrike had been wanting to show Celine: a large park in the middle of the town, a spot of green amid all the brown and gray buildings. The Vulpix smiled as she wiggled her paws into the grass and looked around at the trees and flowers. "So your town isn't so cold after all," she remarked.

"Just wait until winter, then you'll be rethinking that," Shrike replied with a grin.

For a few minutes they simply walked along the dirt paths between the trees, taking it all in. The park really was the most beautiful part of Woodhurst. At this time of day it was quiet too, letting Shrike think in peace as they walked. The chance to leave this place, to really, truly, finally leave home was in front of him. He glanced to the Vulpix at his side, looking over her lithe form. They had really just met, but there was something about her all right. It was pure luck that he had met her, almost as if she had come just for... Him...

Shrike stopped suddenly, eyes wide as he watched Celine continue to walk forward a few steps before stopping and turning to look at him, "Why'd you stop?"

"Celine... This person you're looking for... Who are they?"

"I thought we were over this? I really can't..." Her voice trailed off, her eyes turning from Shrike to look behind him. Slowly he turned to follow, sitting back and raising a paw to shield his eyes as he looked through the trees to the street beyond. "Isn't that your friend?"

Sure enough, it looked to be Zeke. He bounded down the street with a leaping motion that sent him flying almost three or four steps in a single stride. Dodging around and leaping over people who got in his way, he bounded down the road and through the park before coming to a stop with a skid in front of Shrike and Celine.

"Man, I've been looking for you two! I told you, something's happening!" he said, gripping his knees and panting. "These odd guys, they just arrived in town half an hour ago or so and are looking for-"

Zeke was cut off as Celine suddenly shoved him and Shrike to the ground, her tails raising in the air and uncurling before plunging into the ground. A glyph composed of glowing gold lines appeared on the ground around the three Pokemon, a crystalline blue dome rising around them just in time to deflect a barrage of arrows raining down on them. "Us, I assume?" she finished for Zeke.

Shrike gasped as he looked up to see the arrows clacking against the blue dome, their sharp points more resembling those used to hunt than the blunt tips used for practice or target shooting. Who had shot them? What had Celine just done? Was this what Zeke had been talking about happening today, not just him meeting Celine? He felt an odd thrill rise in his chest combining fright with, he had to admit, some excitement as well. This was certainly different.

"He has a witch!" a voice shouted, the arrows subsiding. The trees shook as a large number of Pokemon dropped down from where they had been hiding; Shrike estimated there had to be at least ten of them. All were dressed in black robes that concealed their bodies, emblazoned on the front with a golden symbol that looked like a sun atop a throne.

"Well, Shrike, to be exact. I don't think they expected you," Zeke stated the obvious, pulling himself to his feet and spitting to the side. He slid his legs apart and raised his fists, pounding them together before holding them in front of him. "Nor me."

"Shrike, this is very important," Celine slowly said, glancing down at the Jolteon behind her. He saw energy pulsing around where her tails were planted in the ground, the barrier surrounding them flickering. "We cannot let you be captured. Do not try to fight. Stay low, stay still, stay out of my way, and I will protect you."

"M-me? Why do they want ME?" Shrike stammered, his eyes going wide.

"That question's going to have to wait for another time." Right as she said that the barrier shattered into pieces, Celine pulling her tails from the ground and fanning them out behind her. She shot forward in one direction while Zeke took off in the opposite, the Riolu leaping up to launch himself through the air. A blue aura sphere formed before him, the Riolu slamming a fist into it and rocketing the sphere at one of the black-clothed Pokemon while he crashed down atop the one next to them with a swift kick.

Meanwhile Celine was standing her ground, an array of golden glyphs appearing around each of her tails in midair. Fire flared around first her paws, then her neck, and finally the base of her tails. The sheer sight seemed to unnerve the attackers, especially once each tail began to independently launch a barrage of fireballs at them.

At first the duo seemed to be driving the attackers off. Zeke swiftly leapt between opponents as he delivered barrages of punches and kicks. When one drew a sword and tried to swing it at him, he managed to precisely catch it in a notch on his right paw's spike while punching at their wrist with an open palm. A burst of blue energy shot from the palm as he hit his opponent's wrist, the impact of the force palm sufficient to get them to drop their sword. Zeke stomped on the tip as it was in mid-fall, the sword's hilt flipping up to let the Riolu catch it in his paw. He gave the blade a couple swings in the air to test it before grinning and pointing it at the next foe who was approaching him.

Shrike watched with ears flat against his head as Celine continued her fireball attacks, each sphere of flame exploding into fiery shrapnel wherever it hit; the ground, a tree, or even an unlucky Pokemon who got slammed right in the chest. Finally someone wised up, holding back and trying to shoot an arrow at her again. One of Celine's tails flicked out of formation to knock the arrow out of the air mid-flight, the fire around her paws and tails disappearing as she raised them in the air behind her, twisting them together. She leapt into the air and spun end over end as fire flared around her again, glyphs appearing on either side of her spinning body as she barreled down on the archer. They screamed as the fire-wreathed Vulpix slammed down atop them, the fire consuming their form. Celine uncurled herself as she stood atop their body and growled at the others scattered around.

At the sight of Celine's fire, Shrike felt his heart leaping. Her attacks were ferocious and while the embers quickly faded to avoid an uncontrollable blaze, trees were shattered apart, flowers uprooted, and grass left charred and burnt. Recalling the dead clearing from the feral Typhlosion's attack, Shrike felt his body shaking as he turned around and tried to crawl away. He knew Celine had said to stay still, but he couldn't keep watching as she destroyed the park around her.

So he did his best to crawl slowly, trying not to attract any attention. Unfortunately, trying wasn't enough. "There he is!" he suddenly heard someone say, the Jolteon looking up with a yelp as he saw one of the attackers approaching him with a sword in hand. Seeing that brought a grin to his face though, a bolt of lightning arcing from his body to the metal blade and traveling down into the black-clothed Pokemon's body. They spasmed as they dropped to the ground, but it was too late.

"Gotcha," a voice behind him said and Shrike felt a pair of arms close around his waist, lifting him off the ground with a surprising lack of effort. Remembering what Celine had said and desperate not to be caught, Shrike nearly bit his lip as he bucked his head backwards and slammed his skull into his would-be captor's face.

Shrike was thankfully rewarded with a howl and a grumble from the Pokemon as they reflexively dropped him to the ground. He was just about to run away when their hand came down again and tried to close around his head, Shrike ducking low. He managed to avoid them grabbing his head, but in its place their hands instead closed around the goggles he had placed back atop his head after leaving the house.

There was a snap as the goggles were torn away from Shrike's head, the elastic band splitting apart. "God damn piece of..." the Pokemon growled, followed by the distinct sound of his fist closing in a ball around the goggles, the fragile plastic and glass crushing into dust.

The world seemed to fall still to Shrike as he heard it, slowly turning around to face the Pokemon. Their hood had fallen to reveal themselves as a Machoke, their fist gigantic in comparison to the crushed remains of the goggles it dropped to the ground. He casually dusted some plastic off his hands before reaching out and grabbing Shrike around the neck. The Jolteon's eyes remained locked on the ruined goggles, however, Celine's words echoing through his head. All the hopes of talking to Estelle one last time, of communing with her spirit... Of traveling to Falonde with Celine... Crushed, before his eyes.

"Shrike!" he heard Celine shout, looking over to see the Vulpix looking back at him, then down at the goggles as she worked out what happened. Zeke also turned his attention to Shrike lowering the sword he had claimed. The world was in slow motion. Shrike watched as Celine tried to run forward, her steps taking a minute each. Then a black-clad Pokemon took the chance to grab her, the Vulpix fighting against their grasp as she yelled, "Shrike, whatever you do, don't-"

He didn't hear the rest of her words before a roaring noise filled his ears and everything went black.


	3. We're Going to Be Okay

**-I-** _ **Her Divine Light**_ **-I-**

Chapter 3 - We're Going to Be Okay

A groan was the first thing to escape Shrike's mouth as he felt consciousness slowly returning to him. His head ached and his ears rung, Shrike pressing a paw to his head as he slowly pulled himself up to sit, every bone in his body seeming to protest at the labored movement. Slowly he cracked his eyes open, but all he could see at first was darkness. Pushing past the immediate worry that he was somehow blinded, his eyes soon began to adjust and he took in the dim, dark, unfamiliar setting he found himself in.

He was sitting on a stone bed in what appeared to be a small, poorly cleaned cell. The scent of dampness and mold greeted his nose as he looked around, and as the ringing faded away he could hear water dripping in one of the cell's corners. What little light illuminated the cell filtered through a tiny barred window set high in one wall, too small to even try and slip out of. Shrike sat on the stone bed and waited for his eyes to finish adjusting as well as they could, glancing around to observe every detail of the place. There wasn't much more to the cell, though; just that stone bed, the window, a clogged drain in a corner that the water above was dripping onto, and a thick iron door set in one wall.

He slipped off the bed and padded over to the door, tugging and pushing at the handle. It wouldn't budge and he didn't see a lock on the inside. Of course that made sense, wouldn't be a very effective cell otherwise. As he stepped back from the door a slit in its bottom opened and a plate of food that could better be described as sludge was pushed through without a word.

As Shrike slumped down on the ground against one of the bare, cold walls the reality of his situation dawned on him: if this was a cell, someone had caught and imprisoned him. His stomach twisted as he picked up a chunk of bread that was on the food platter, finding it hard as a rock. Feebly he poked at the soupy mess of supposed food before setting it down and slumping down farther until he was almost laying on his back.

Slowly he patted at the mane around his neck, feeling somewhat comforted as he felt his scarf. Then he reached up to his head, his heart twisting at the absence of his goggles. So it hadn't been a dream then, that whole fight with the mysterious attackers that were supposedly after him; it had indeed been real. The Machoke had really crushed his goggles and with them, his dreams of traveling to Falonde with Celine and giving Estelle the proper goodbye he wanted... At least he still had his scarf, a token reminder of Estelle and her death.

Of course, the bigger concern at the moment was just what happened to him. Where was he, and why was he jailed? Had he done something after blacking out? Or... Had Zeke and Celine been defeated, and the mysterious group brought him here? What had he even done to warrant a small army of armed Pokemon attacking him? The more he thought about it the less everything made sense. The day had started out simply enough, but the longer it had gone on the stranger it got. "What the hell is going on?!" he finally yelled out loud, his voice reverberating around the small cell.

He half expected someone to speak up at that moment, a guard or a neighboring prisoner maybe, to explain what had happened and maybe even, if he was lucky, let him out of there. Nothing happened. No one responded and that door certainly didn't open. Shrike sighed and, after a growl from his stomach reminded him of how hungry he was, resigned himself to the gruel.

Time soon lost meaning in the dungeon cell. Shrike spent most of his time sitting on the stone bed or the stone floor, not as if there was much of a difference between them. At least the bed wasn't quite as cold as the floor. Wistfully he would stare up at the window, watching the light change. It started out dim, evening on the same day he had fallen unconscious he assumed. From there it went black, back to light, and then night fell once more. Another uneventful day passed, and by his fifth gruel meal Shrike found himself staring up at the ceiling with mouth agape, wondering where it had all gone wrong.

As night once again set, Shrike was about to resign himself to sleep when a low voice seemed to whisper through the window above, "Hey, buddy?"

"Nice trick, you'll have to do better than that..." Shrike babbled to himself, knowing the voice most definitely had to be his imagination playing tricks on him.

"Man, snap out of it. It's only been two days!" Shrike began to recognize the voice: Zeke. With a groan the Jolteon rolled his head forward before turning around to face the window, craning upwards towards it.

"Zeke?" He called out, half expecting for the only response to be silence.

"Yes, it's me. Already going crazy? Man, you're hopeless in prison." There was a teasing quality to Zeke's voice and Shrike couldn't help but chuckle, feeling his mind slipping out of the funk it had been stuck in. "Look, Celine and I are safe. We can't get you out of there, but what we can do is get you out once you're being transferred."

"Transferred...? Where am I?"

"You're still in Whiteholt, but the Duke has requested that you be transferred to his own dungeons at Caer Cadmire; a dubious honor I must say."

Shrike frowned. Caer Cadmire, Whiteholt's capital city and the seat of power for the region. Just what the hell was going on? "First those... I don't even know, ninjas or whatever, and now the Duke. Why does everyone want ME of all people? I'm just..." Shrike sighed and dropped his head as he forced himself to say it, "Nobody..."

"Not anymore, you're the talk of the town. Celine thought this would happen; you blacked out again, didn't you?" There was an edge to Zeke's voice. He knew something, Shrike looking up as if he could see him there through the bars.

"Yeah. Celine was shouting at me not to... Do something. Next thing I know, here I am."

"Well then, let me fill in the gap..."

* * *

Zeke hefted the sword he had taken in his paw, feeling its weight and trying out a slash or two at empty air to locate its balance. He preferred fighting empty handed but wouldn't pass up the opportunity to put his sword skills to the test. His aura sensors flicked, and out of the corner of his eye noticed one of the weird black-clad guys charging at him. The Riolu grinned as he swiftly spun around to face them. "Hey there!"

Before they could react, Zeke buckled his knees and sprung up into the air, somersaulting over their head. As he flipped through the air the Riolu swung his sword at their arm, cleanly slicing through the sleeve of their robe and the flesh beneath. Blood leaked out, red spots growing on the black cloth as the Pokemon let out a shout of pain, reflexively dropping their own sword. Finally Zeke landed behind them, spinning around to deliver a kick to their back that knocked them flat on their chest.

"Hmm, guess my sword technique is a little rusty. Thought that'd do more damage," he commented, holding the sword up and glancing over its dull edge. "Or these are just cheap pieces of crap... Don't want to seriously hurt the guy you're trying to kidnap..."

"Shrike!" he heard that new girl shout, Zeke turning to see what he had gotten into now. There he saw his roommate, the Jolteon, held by his neck in the Machoke's grip. His goggles were conspicuously absent from his head, Zeke quickly noticing the small pile of crushed plastic and glass at the Machoke's feet.

"Oh. Shit," he murmured, biting his tongue. From how Celine was acting, it was safe to say she knew what was about to happen too.

"Shrike, whatever you do, don't give in to your anger!" she was frantically shouting, but it was too late. Before she could even get it all out a familiar strange glow surrounded Shrike, the same one Zeke had seen five years earlier when he was creeping in the bushes and saw Estelle's death. He never told Shrike what he had seen, nor what he sensed in the Jolteon's Aura whenever he looked at him. He thought that maybe it would happen once and never again, that he could keep Shrike safe by staying so close to him. Now here it was, coming back out, and there was nothing Zeke could do to stop it.

White light shot out of Shrike's eyes as his head craned back, the Machoke reeling and letting go of his hold on the Jolteon. Yet, Shrike didn't fall. Instead he hung there in midair, his limbs twisting out to the sides as he opened his mouth and let out an unworldly scream. Then a pillar of light shot up from the ground beneath him, rising high into the sky and scattering the clouds as it pierced through to continue up towards the heavens. Zeke dug his feet into the ground as he braced against the shockwaves that radiated off the light like a fierce wind.

"Celine, we've got to get out of here!" he turned to shout at the Vulpix, who was staring with eyes locked on the light.

"I-it's true..." she muttered, almost in a trance. "He's the one..."

Zeke broke into a sprint as he dashed over to Celine, intent on grabbing her and escaping the area. Before he could even reach her there was an explosion of energy behind him, the pillar of light bursting open. Zeke and Celine were sent scattering across the ground, the Riolu losing his new sword in the process. Shame.

When Zeke had pulled himself back up, the Jolteon was no more. In its place, hanging in midair, was a Pokemon he had only seen once before. It somewhat resembled a cat of some sort, but the proportions were unlike other feline Pokemon he had seen. Feet too large and arms too small, attached to a body that seemed too frail to support the comparatively large head. From its rear flowed a long tail, curling in the air as if it had a life of its own. The Pokemon had blue fur in contrast to Shrike's yellow, but the paws were as white as they always were with him.

"Mew..." he heard Celine nearly whisper, the Vulpix standing on shaking legs before lowering herself to the ground and bowing in reverence, slowly starting to mutter in prayer.

"Mew? You mean..." Zeke's mouth suddenly ran dry, dropping to his knees as he stared at the Pokemon he had first seen those five years ago. He had watched as Shrike In his rage literally disintegrated the Typhlosion, killing the feral beast without leaving a single trace as to its existence. Now, it was happening all over again.

The Mew, if it could even still be called Shrike, slowly cracked its eyes open. They were similar to his blue eyes as a Jolteon, but shifted more to the green, almost teal. Yet they were blank and emotionless, no sign of life behind them. Everyone had fallen silent but for Celine, the hushed voice of her prayer the only sound in the park.

 _"Where light exists so shall darkness, where good exists so shall evil, threatening to consume all that is good and light."_

"Shrike? Come on buddy, snap out of it now," Zeke desperately called out, clasping his paws together and rubbing them nervously. "No, uh, disrespect though..."

 _"Unable to touch His world and protect Her children, She the Most Holy cast Her Divine Light over our mortal world, shining through the darkness to ward off evil."_

He got no response from his friend, for better or worse. Instead Shrike's head slowly turned to look at the Machoke. A red glow flared behind those emotionless eyes and the fighting type was simply... Gone.

 _"So with Her Light She gave Her gift unto the chosen, so that She may watch over Her children and protect them from the evils of the world."_

One moment the Machoke had been sitting on his rear, staring up at Shrike in a mixture of fright and reverence that was common among pretty much everyone in the park at that moment. The next, he vanished without so much as a poof, just a slight wind, air rushing in to fill the freshly vacant space.

 _"So it has been, so it shall be."_

Systematically Shrike turned to look at each of the black-clad attackers in turn, each and every one of them vanishing beneath his gaze. Some of them tried to flee, but Shrike merely raised his paw and they found themselves lifted into the air, flailing legs uselessly beneath them. It didn't take more than a minute and they were all gone, as if they had never been then, nor ever existed.

 _"Let Her Divine Light uplift us all, amen."_

Silence filled the park as Celine's prayer faded to silence, leaving the three friends completely alone. Celine continued to prostrate herself towards the Mew that had been Shrike, while Zeke stared with eyes almost bulging, trying to figure out what he was seeing. The moment didn't last long, a clatter of metal armor signaling the arrival of the town guard. An array of swords, spears, and arrows were aimed at the Mew, Celine suddenly leaping to her feet as the guards surrounded them. "Don't anger him! Drop your weapons!" she shouted.

"You'd be no match anyway..." was all Zeke could utter, his mind still processing what he had seen.

Before the guards had a chance to do anything, another pillar of light shot up from beneath Shrike. This time it only flashed for a moment before revealing the Jolteon Shrike had been before, lying sprawled out on the grass unconscious. "So much for that..." Zeke muttered.

"By order of the Mayor of Woodhurst all three of you are to come with me," the captain of the guard spoke as he walked forward; a Nidoking decked out in plate mail. He spoke with authority and wielded a spear taller than he was. Zeke thought he had seen them around before, but didn't know his name. As the soldiers closed in around Zeke and Celine, the Nidoking slowly, almost ponderously walked over to where Shrike lay unconscious. Bending down he grabbed Shrike by the scruff, lifting the Jolteon into the air.

"You can't take him, and you can't hold him," Celine said in a voice that was like a teacher scolding her students. An overeager guard jabbed his spear at her, nicking the Vulpix between the shoulders.

The Nidoking looked to Celine and sneered as she buckled over. Slowly she looked up at Zeke, glancing between him and Shrike who the Nidoking had casually tossed over his shoulder. She grimaced and seemed to wilt momentarily, but that didn't last. A moment later and a whirlwind of fire had formed around her, blasting the guards who had surrounded her back. Slamming her paws at the ground, a column of flames shot up between her and Zeke, knocking down any further guards who were between them.

Zeke barely had the chance to see what Celine did next, only hearing a rush of wind as Celine shot forward through the flames, propelled by a glyph appearing on the ground beneath her. He felt her paw close around his wrist as another glyph appeared on the ground beneath them, then a churning, sinking feeling in his stomach as he found himself rising high into the air. Frozen stiff from fright, he stared down at all of Woodhurst as the impossibly high jump carried them high into the air in an arc, a barrage of arrows clattering around them. Then they fell down again.

A scream tore from Zeke's throat that Celine was quick to quiet by pressing a tail against his muzzle. A series of glyphs appeared in the air beneath them like a tunnel, slowing their fall with each one they passed through. After falling through one last glyph they touched down with no more force than a step, Celine dropping the Riolu to the ground.

"You've got a lot of explaining to do, you know. You can start with what the fuck just happened back there," Zeke shouted as he shakily pulled himself up, looking around. They were in the poor part of town, having descended into a back alley. He prayed no one had seen them.

Turning around he found Celine kneeling on the ground, her paws clasped and her head bowed in another prayer. With a sigh he shoved her shoulder, breaking her from her trance. "Yes... I suppose I do." Celine said after a moment, pulling herself up and turning to face Zeke. She looked him from head to toe as if it was the first time they had met, before she let out a loud sigh. "But first we have to rescue Shrike. If I could have only..." she seemed frustrated about her choice to rescue Zeke over Shrike, but he understood why she had made that decision. Getting Shrike free from the Nidoking would have been a lot harder than freeing Zeke from some goons. "They'll probably be transferring him to Caer Cadmire soon, we can't let that happen. No one must be allowed to hold him."

* * *

Shrike was stunned into silence, giving an odd look to the window as if Zeke could see him. "I did... What? What the hell DID happen?"

"You transformed into what Celine calls a Mew and completely vaporized those guys. It was kinda cool, but mostly terrifying. Celine didn't really tell me anything at all, just something about being some sort of avatar to a God or something. But hey look, I've gotta go now."

"W-wait! I'm just really confused!" Shrike yelled, still in a daze from it all.

"Yeah and so am I. You'll just have to wait until you can see her yourself again. You'll know when it's time to escape, be ready."

"Wait, don't go!" he yelled, but it was too late. Shrike heard the rustle of bushes as Zeke departed, the Jolteon's mouth twisting into a frown. He turned away from the window and sat on the edge of the bed, swinging his legs back and forth as he tried to process it. It was all just too much. Just a few days ago he had been a normal guy, training to one day be a hunter. Then he meets Celine and suddenly wannabe ninjas are attacking them and he turns into this... Mew thing and... Killed them? He thinks?

Shrike gave a shiver as he thought about that again. Hopefully he wouldn't do that too often anymore. The thought of killing another sentient wasn't the most comfortable to him, even if he hadn't been aware of his actions or in control of his body. Did that Mew even count as his own body?

If there was one thing to come of all this, it put that day five years ago back in focus. He had snapped then just as he had now, transformed into this Mew and destroyed the Typhlosion in his rage over Estelle's death. He had got his vengeance and never even knew it.

Yet it all seemed hollow now. It was vengeance, but he didn't even know who had done it. This Mew came from his body but he couldn't remember anything it did, so was he really in control of it? Or was it something else entirely? Why couldn't Celine have come instead of Zeke to explain this all to him? Who WAS Celine anyway? All Zeke had served to do was give Shrike more questions to muse about over the coming days.

The sun came up, then went down, and finally rose once more. Shrike waited on bated breath as if this would be the day something would happen, but as the sun set he let out a sigh. The night turned to day and he sat in front of the door once more, this time letting out a relieved sigh as it was finally thrown open and guards came in to escort him out. Finally he was getting out of the cell, but in all that time he still hadn't found any answers amid his myriad thoughts.

He grumbled as chains were shackled around his paws, one of the guards taking the other end of a long chain and pulling on it like a leash, forcing Shrike to either walk or be dragged. He chose to go along with them, walking on unsteady paws as he was led out of the dungeon. He had never been in it before, and from his quick look around he hoped he would never have to be in it again. It was a dark, depressing place in stark contrast to the town's façade above, the corridor lined with doors that led into other cells no doubt like the one he had been in. Out of his place of confinement he could now hear the cries and pleads of other prisoners, Shrike forcing them out of his head as he was led up a flight of stairs and outside.

He had to pause for a moment as the light hit him, his eyes unadjusted to the sunlight after so many days in the dark. A yank on his chain reminded him that he was still a prisoner, and he forced himself to walk even as he kept his head down. When he finally felt his eyes adjusting he managed to glance up, surprised at the sight he saw.

It looked as if most of the town was there, guards holding them back as he was led through Woodhurst. A low murmur filled the crowd, Shrike's eyes drooping as he looked around at them. He recognized a lot of the people there, and for the first time since he woke up in that cell the reality finally hit him: he was a prisoner in his own home, not that it would be soon.

Shrike had grown up there in Woodhurst, lived there all his life. When his parents passed away Estelle had cared for him, and when she too was gone he lived with Zeke. Woodhurst was all he knew, yet here he was now. A prisoner, for doing something, being something, that he had no conscious thoughts of and was as confused about as everyone else. People he had known, even been friends with for his entire life simply stood there now and looked at him as if he was a stranger.

He tried not to cry, desperately biting his lip to attempt to hold back tears. When the gates came in sight, a motorized carriage sitting right outside them with back doors open and waiting, he was almost relieved. Silently he let the guards push him up into the isolated rear cabin of the carriage, Shrike turning to give one last glance at the hometown he now wondered if he would ever be able to return to before the doors slammed shut.

Immediately he broke down, tears flowing from his eyes as he dropped down onto a bench lining the cabin walls. He hung his head and sobbed, barely noticing as the carriage's engine spun up with the soft purr and whine of electrical coils. If this was a better time he would be fascinated by the technology, having rarely seen such before, but this was no time for that. The motorized carriage lurched forward and they were off, Woodhurst shrinking behind them through the small barred window that looked out the back.

Slowly Shrike came to remember what Zeke had said, that he and Celine would rescue him when he was being taken to Caer Cadmire. He had never been to his own home region's capital and so didn't know how long the trip would take, nor had they given an exact point in the journey when they would intervene. He reached up with his chained paws and did his best to wipe tears out of his eyes, realizing that he would have to be ready for their rescue at any moment.

So he reflected on his teachings from Estelle, closing his eyes and slowing his breathing as he emptied his mind. He could think about what was happening and mourn his old life later; for now he had to center himself, drain his mind of thoughts and emotions and take on the trance of emptiness at which you were the most ready and dangerous.

In his meditation, Shrike didn't know how long had passed before the carriage suddenly jolted as if hit by something big. His eyes snapped open right as a second hit came, slamming into the carriage's metal sides again. The impact was strong enough to dent in the wall across from where Shrike sat, a commotion rising from the front driver's compartment. Finally there was a third slam and the world was turned on its side as the carriage tipped over and rolled, the metal wall torn open from the repeated impacts.

Shrike leapt into motion, bending down before jumping out of the hole to what was now the top of the disabled carriage. "He's escaping!" he heard a guard yell, Shrike turning to see one of the drivers crawling out of a door that now faced upwards. Realizing the long, loose, leash-like chain that they had used to lead him was still attached to his paws, Shrike couldn't help but smirk.

Leaping into action, he used his own motions to spin the long end of the chain and wrap it around the guard's arm. As they struggled to untangle themselves from it Shrike sent an electrical charge down the metal links, the guard spasming before dropping to the ground. Quickly he yanked the chain free of their arm and glanced around at the situation for the first time.

His wasn't the only carriage in the convoy apparently, a carriage both in front and in back of his stopped as guards began piling out of them. The carriage in back then turned around and was off on its way back to town, no doubt to fetch reinforcements.

"Shrike!" he heard a voice shout, looking up to see Zeke standing on the side of a tall hill next to the carriages. As he watched Zeke formed a large aura sphere in front of him, larger than even he was. Spinning on one foot he gave the large ball a swift kick, rocketing it towards a group of guards sprinting towards where Shrike stood atop the fallen carriage. As it impacted the ground the ball of energy literally exploded, scattering the guards as they were thrown backwards; so that was what the impacts against the carriage had been.

"Thanks for the rescue," Shrike nodded. "Let me get some action of my own in, will you? I'm a bit angry at these guys now."

"Just don't get too angry!" Zeke yelled over to him. "We don't want a repeat performance here."

"Hmm, is this where I say 'you won't like me when I'm angry'?" Shrike mused, before giving a shrug. "Ah, screw it."

With that the Jolteon leapt off the carriage, spinning into a flurry of electricity as he whipped the long chain around. He turned it into an extension of his body, charging it with lightning and flailing it at the guards as they approached him. Lashing out at their feet he tried to trip them, or grabbed at their arms to knock their weapons loose. The smell of ozone began to fill the air as Shrike let loose with electricity, keeping everyone who tried to approach him at bay. They finally seemed to wise up after a third of their group was shocked unconscious, holding back out of Shrike's range. Letting out a breath, Shrike took the end of the chain in his paw and looking at it fondly. "You know, this makes a decent weapon."

"Yeah well, I think we'd prefer it off you." Celine said as she snuck up on him, Shrike turning to face her. Raising it up in the air, one of her tails stiffened and turned a shiny gray as if it was metal before slamming into the shackles around Shrike's paws one by one, not giving him any break between hits.

"Yoww!" he yelped as the shocks from the impacts reverberated through his joints and up through his bones, but they had done the job. The shackles shattered upon the hits and fell to his feet with the chains, Shrike rubbing his freed wrists and ankles. "You got a plan to get out of here?"

"Yes, you need to transform again," she said as she grabbed him by his scarf, a glyph appearing in the air in front of her. She ran into it and it propelled them forward at speeds even the Jolteon thought was absurd, the pair shooting up the hill that Zeke was already climbing at a more normal pace.

"Yeah! Do the thing!" Zeke shouted after them before they crested the hill and were out of his sight, leaving him behind.

"Ahhh!" Shrike couldn't help but scream at the shock of such sudden acceleration. He was used to speed, but this was just absurd. Finally he felt Celine let go of him, sending Shrike tumbling down the other side of the hill. He cried out and sputtered as some grass got in his mouth, until he managed to halt his rolling and fall flat on his back. Staring up blankly into the blue sky above, all he could manage to say was, "What just happened?!"

"You heard them call me a Witch the other day, didn't you?" Celine replied with a wink as she walked up to Shrike, standing over him. "It's a title, meaning I've been trained to manipulate Aether. It has many applications in battle, as you might have seen the other day too. Most not familiar with the practice call it magic."

Shrike pulled himself to his feet, wincing as one of his ankles complained and buckled under him. He pushed through it, forcing himself to stand and shake the grass out of his fur. "Yeah great, so can you just magic us out of here, then?"

"No, as I said, you need to transform again."

"Do the thing, Shrike! The thing!" Zeke suddenly shouted as he skidded down the hill, kicking up dirt behind him before the Riolu found his leg caught on a stray root and went tumbling the rest of the way down much as Shrike had. He came to a stop next to the pair who had beat him to the bottom, quickly pulling himself up and mumbling, "Meant to do that..."

"I thought I wasn't supposed to transform! You said not to get angry!" Shrike shouted at his friend, Zeke giving a shrug.

"Hey, she's the one who knows about all this stuff, yell at her."

As Zeke suggested Shrike turned to Celine, raising a paw to point at the Riolu, "He said not to transform! Why are you both now saying to do it!"

"Do the THING, you gotta be specific," Zeke piped In, Shrike giving him a shove that knocked him down.

"Oh, shut up."

Celine gave a great sigh, before staring at the two with a look that sent shivers down Shrike's spine. "Both of you shut up," she glared. When a moment passed without either of them saying a word, her look softened and she gave a nod. "Good. My abilities would be unable to teleport all three of us out of here. If we want to escape, we need the psychic strength you possess as a Mew, but we need you to be in control, not a blind rage."

Unsure if it was okay to speak or not now, Shrike raised a paw like he was back in school. Celine sighed again and nodded at him, his paw dropping as he asked, "But, how? I mean I've only... Done thing," as he said that he winked at Zeke, who grinned even as Celine shoved him down this time and Shrike continued, "Twice now, and apparently it was triggered in both cases by anger. That, and I couldn't really control myself."

"That's wrong. You WERE in control," Celine said, startling Shrike. Was she saying he had really killed those people of his own accord? "At least, I believe so. Look, we're treading untraveled territory here. An Avatar hasn't appeared for over a century, certainly out of my lifetime, and it's never exactly the same twice."

"Wait, Avatar?" Shrike butted in.

Celine gritted her teeth, looking up nervously to the top of the hill. "Okay, see, we really don't have time to go over everything now. What we need to do is speed along your development. Normally it would takes months of training for an Avatar to learn how to control their transformed state. I need you to learn how to do so in a minute."

"Or however long it takes those guards to get past the traps we set," Zeke said, pointing backwards with a paw. Right in response an explosion went off beyond the hill, Shrike hearing a guard scream and curse loudly.

"...Zeke, I knew you were insane. Didn't expect it from Celine too."

"I do what I have to. I can't let you rot away in a dungeon for life, nor can I let you be some Duke's tool." Celine shook her head as she pulled at Shrike's arm, leading him farther down the hill and into an outcropping of trees. There Shrike found an odd array of... Stuff, as best he could tell.

"I've been preparing this ritual for the past few days," Celine explained as she examined the stuff herself as if to make sure it was all in proper order. "If it works... Well, probably best you see for yourself."

A circular glyph like the ones which formed out of glowing light when Celine used her magic was stenciled in the ground, but significantly more intricate. Swirling lines crossed it seemingly at random, while letters in a language he didn't know circled around it. Arranged around the outer edge of the glyph were an array of crystals, their colors and sizes appearing random but Shrike knew probably had some deeper meaning. "Where'd you get all these?" He asked.

"Not easily, that's for sure!" Zeke exclaimed. Shrike got the impression that the means of acquisition hadn't exactly been legal and gave a knowing nod.

"Stand here," Celine instructed, gesturing towards a spot on the ground marked with some leaves and berries. Shrike did as he was told and stepped onto the spot, careful not to disturb anything in case it was important. He watched as Celine walked around to the opposite side of the glyph and sat in a similarly marked off spot, while Zeke meanwhile simply backed up and leaned against a tree as he looked back the way they had come.

A flash of light drew Shrike's attention back to the glyph, light rising up from its lines as if something beneath the ground was shining through the cracks. The crystals seemed to hum with power and Shrike could feel the air around him crackling and sizzling with energy unlike anything he had felt before. It reminded him of the crackling, live feel of electricity, but rather than disorderly and chaotic it felt soothing and calm, like water in a river.

Celine appeared to have gone into some sort of trance, her golden eyes empty and vacant. Her tails were held stiff behind her, but as he watched they began to slowly curve forward, bending and flexing outwards towards him. Her mouth moved slowly, forming words that Shrike couldn't identify, unsure if they even were words or just noises. He took a deep breath to calm himself as he watched Celine's tails approach and her odd chanting grow louder, until he felt the six tails press against his head, arms, and legs.

What happened next he would never forget. The world as he knew it seemed to blink away, leaving the Jolteon floating in darkness. He moved around, or so he thought he did, but the darkness never changed leaving him disoriented as to where he was facing or even if he had moved at all. Just when he was starting to grow scared about being lost in the darkness, a light appeared in the distance. Small at first, it grew larger and brighter as if it was approaching him. Or, indeed, as if he was approaching it. Shrike raised a paw to cover his eyes as it grew bright enough to blind him, yet soon the light overtook and enveloped him completely.

Slowly Shrike lowered his paw, finding the previously black landscape now completely white, filled with the light. Out of that light shapes began to form, the shapes of Pokemon both strange and familiar, giant dragons and smaller fairies. The Pokemon of legends, and indeed as he soon recalled, Gods. Not just Gods, but the Deities and Guardians. Those Pokemon that created the universe, shaped the world, and now protect it. Out of the blinding light they seemed to surround him, until in the background two more shapes appeared.

One was of a large, almost goat-like Pokemon, an ornate ring surrounding its midsection and several wedge-shaped plates rotating around it. It appeared cold and harsh, but as its gaze fell upon Shrike he felt an awe unlike any he had felt before.

 _Zachariel_

The name was whispered in his head, and instantly he remembered. Zachariel, now called Arceus in the common tongue, the God of Creation. Creator of the universe, of the world. The Origin of Everything. Next to him, the other Pokemon was much smaller, simpler. Feline in shape with almost child-like proportions, Shrike recognized it as the Pokemon Zeke had said he turned into, Mew, but this one was clad in solid pink fur.

 _Armisael_

And then Shrike remembered it too. Armisael, also called Mew, Goddess of Birth. Creator of all the people in the world, all life that filled the universe. Origin of Everyone. It was she who had given birth to all life, and it was she Shrike found himself fixated on now.

 _My child, you have many questions, and all will be answered in time._

The voice in his head, he now recognized it as coming from her, Shrike feeling himself rising up through the light-filled void and moving towards her.

 _The one who guides you will be important to uncovering your path, but do not forsake the advice of others. You have been given a gift, and through yet more hardship you will come to learn the importance of this gift._

Shrike raised his paws in front of him, realizing for the first time that he was not a Jolteon anymore. His paws were still white, but much shorter, and the fur rising up from his wrists was now blue. Behind him he felt a tail again for the first time since he had evolved, curling and twitching through the white void as if it had always been a part of his body.

 _Go now, my child. Yours are unusual circumstances, but I am glad we had the chance to meet however briefly. Your guide needs you now._

Armisael slowly extended her long tail, much longer than Shrike's own, and wrapped it around his body before pressing the tip against his forehead. The nothingness around Shrike began to shake as the white faded back to black, the shapes of the other Gods, Deities, and Guardians drawing away. He glanced at Zachariel as he gave a nod and disappeared, before looking back at Armisael.

"Thank you," he said, his voice near a whisper.

With a nod and a smile, she vanished.

* * *

"Are you about done?!" was the first thing Shrike heard as his senses returned to him. He slumped forward before he could regain his muscle control, managing to catch himself just in time. The sound of arrows whizzing by was the next thing he noticed, then a particularly loud explosion.

Snapping up he spun around in a circle to take in everything at once. The crystals that had surrounded the glyph looked as if they were burnt out, drained of their color. Celine was slumped over on top of the glyph, unconscious. Zeke was frantically fending off a veritable army of soldiers that were marching over the hill while birds swooped overhead dropping bombs on them from above.

He looked down and clenched his fist. Yellow fur ran up his arm. "Yes," he said, not even doubting himself. This felt right. He felt right. Whatever had just happened, wherever he had gone, being spoken to and touched by Armisael had set something in his mind. He knew what to do now. Clenching his paw, a burst of white light enveloped his body.

Inside the pillar of light he could swear he saw the now familiar shapes of Zachariel and Armisael again, but a blink and they were gone. He let out a scream as he suddenly felt his body twisting and changing, but soon the pain ebbed, the light vanished, and he fell to the ground hunched over.

"Oh thank god," Zeke cried out as he hurried over to Shrike's side. "I never thought I'd be so glad to see the living personification of a God in the flesh!"

Shrike slowly sat up, feeling his body rising up in the air as he did so. He appeared to be floating, Shrike staring down at his now blue-furred body, moving his arms and legs to test them as if unsure they would still work. They responded; so they really were his. "This is... Different."

"Oh good, you can talk. That means you're yourself this time? Yay! Can you get us out of here now?!" Zeke frantically yelled, grabbing the unconscious Vulpix. "She said something about... Oh I dunno, teleporting?!"

Shrike took a deep breath, turning around to where the soldiers were approaching and raising a paw. He saw a flinch travel across the group in unison as they recognized what he had become and most likely recalled what had happened the other day. A few even turned and fled right at his sight.

 _You're not a killer._

At that thought he paused, remembering what Zeke had told him he had done. Wavering, he lowered his paw just in time for an arrow to shoot past him and hit Zeke in the shoulder. "Aw, son of a..." the Riolu growled, falling back to the ground and clutching at the wooden shaft. "Any day now, your Godliness!"

"Sorry, sorta new at this..." Shrike mumbled, taking another breath before thrusting both paws beneath him. In a flash what appeared to be a large blue bubble appeared around the three Pokemon, a volley of incoming arrows harmlessly deflecting off it. The thin yet sturdy surface rippled underneath the hits, but held.

"Well that helps but it's still not teleporting!" Zeke yelled, grunting as he yanked the arrow out of his shoulder only to scream out a loud curse. As blood trickled down through his fur he tossed the wooden shaft to the side and mumbled, "Couldn't have done that just a moment earlier, could you..."

"You really should calm down..." Shrike muttered, his voice calm and peaceful. He raised his different-looking paws to look at them again, marveling at his new body and powers. "Just figuring a few things out here. Now let's see..."

 _Clear yourself of distractions, distance yourself from emotions._

It was Estelle's voice. Shrike gave a smile as he recalled her, the Sylveon appearing in his mind. Just as she always said, huh? He took a deep breath, emptying his mind. Centering himself. He lowered his arms as he breathed, seeming to bob in the air in tune with his breath. He could practically feel the energy building inside the bubble, emanating in waves off his form. Slowly the Mew opened his eyes, crossing his arms across his chest. In the distance, coming down the hill, he could see the Nidoking Zeke had described. He and a platoon of soldiers were charging across the field, the sight bringing an odd sort of smile to Shrike's face.

"We're going to be okay."

When he swept his arms outwards, a burst of light blinded the approaching soldiers while a sudden gust of wind bowled them down. When they got to their feet and let their eyes adjust back to the normal daylight, all they found of the trio of wanted Pokemon was a large circular crater in the ground, sparks crackling across its surface.

 _ **End of Part 1**_

* * *

 _Hey all, Shrike Alvaron the author here! I just want to take this moment as Part 1's wrapped up to thank everyone who's taken notice of my story and read it. Seeing it receive favorites and followers is really quite encouraging, and helps give me motivation to continue writing on! My format for this story means Part 2 will be following a different character than Part 1, but don't worry, Shrike will return in Part 3. I hope you continue to read, and feel free to leave a review or PM me with feedback!  
_

 _-Shrike Alvaron_


	4. But a Simple Knight

_Hey there, readers! First of all, I want to apologize for the long wait between Part 1 and Part 2. I write these parts all at once, since doing so allows me to easily go back and revise stuff early in the part to take into account things I added later on. This actually proved rather important for Part 2, with me adding entire new scenes near the beginning to flesh out some stuff I found lacking. In doing so, this became a decent amount longer than Part 1 was!_

 _Anyway, as I briefly mentioned in the footnote of the previous chapter, I am following a structure of alternating storylines which means this Part will be focusing on a different character than Part 1 did, in a completely different situation. I hope you can enjoy Tenebrae's story here as much as Shrike's!_

 _-Shrike Alvaron_

* * *

 **-II-** _ **A Lover's Folly**_ **-II-**

Chapter 4: But a Simple Knight

"Tenebrae! Tenebrae, where are you?!"

A female Zoroark wandered the wastes, her feet pounding at the dry, nearly black dirt that seemed to stretch on for miles. Small hills dotted the landscape, like black bumps that had been pushed up from underneath. The air was dry, the Zoroark pausing for a moment to catch her breath and look up at the darkening skies overhead. She wasn't as used to travel outside the village as she had been when younger.

Jewelry made of bones clacked together as she resumed her search, and the white chalk patterns that covered her fur seemed to shift as it waved and rustled about. Soon she found herself at the entrance to what some would first see as a cave in the side of one of the bumpy hills, but if one looked closer would notice the deliberate carvings and signs or previous habitation by a people long since gone from this land. She glanced at the hill it was set in and a rock formation atop it in particular; this must be the place.

The Zoroark ducked through the entrance, reaching to the belt she wore and picking a lantern up off a loop on it. Twisting a knob on the lantern to ignite it, she ventured into the darkness of the ruins. The carvings along the wall grew more prominent and numerous the deeper she went, and artifacts of a previous age appeared scattered around the main tunnel as well as the numerous rooms off to the sides that she stuck her head in. Tenebrae had told her of these ruins earlier and his intent to visit them again, she could only assume he would be here.

The curving tunnel went on for a while, twisting about on itself before opening into a large cavern. As she entered it, her ears twitched as they picked up the sound of water. The Zoroark hurried down the uneven steps to the base of the cavern, following the sound to a small spring that ran through a crack in the wall. Unhooking a canteen from her belt, she refilled it before sticking her head beneath the cooling water. With a sigh she pulled herself out, using a clawed hand to fix her hair before lapping at the water until she'd had her fill.

Turning away from the spring, she raised her lantern once more, adjusting a series of mirrored flaps on it to change the light's focus to shine in a beam rather than a pool around her. She swept the beam of light over the cavern, examining every part of it that she could see. Slowly she walked around, sticking the light behind stalagmites and broken pieces of what she assumed would have once been furniture but had long since been reduced to rubble.

Peering around one particularly large fragment of what appeared to be carved stone, she found a small hole in the wall. It was almost too small for her, and as she examined the edges she found some black fur that had been caught and torn free. "Tenebrae, are you in there?" she called out again as she lowered herself to the ground, squeezing through the hole after pushing the lantern ahead of her.

The chamber behind the hole was small, with a ceiling low enough she was forced to crawl, and looked to be a room of some sort. Recently used in comparison to the rest of the ruins, by the look of the bags and items strewn about. She switched the lantern back to emitting a pool of light around her, a chill traveling down her body as she finally noticed what lay in the center of the cave.

The black-furred body of a Zorua, slumped over and lying on its side. The Zoroark's eyes popped open and she went wild, rushing over to the body as tears blurred her version and a scream ripped from her throat, "TENEBRAE!"

* * *

 _-Two Weeks Ago-_

A Zorua ran quickly through the darkening wastes, a necklace made of bones and a small skull bouncing against his chest. The sun was rapidly falling beneath the horizon, a small issue for him. He could see well in the dark, but if he didn't get home soon he would be in trouble nonetheless.

The village soon came into sight, rising up over the horizon and growing closer. Amid the low hills of the Blackdell wastes was a roughly semicircular arrangement of taller hill, rising above the others and too steep to climb. In the space between these hills a village had been built, with a wall enclosing the remaining open side. This left a single pair of gates set into the wall as the only way in and out of the village; if Tenebrae could just reach those gates in time...

"Tenebrae! You stayed out late again!" a voice rang out, almost knocking the Zorua to the ground in surprise. Fumbling on his paws, he managed to keep his balance as he looked up to find a Zoroark standing there. He resisted the urge to sigh as he realized it was his mom, Umbra.

The Zorua named Tenebrae chuckled nervously, tracing his paws in random lines around the hard-packed ground. In doing so a surface layer of loose dust, dirt, and ash was disturbed, leaving white marks that looked much like the patterns that covered both Tenebrae and Umbra's fur. "I... I'm sorry!" he exclaimed. He had to admit he was surprised she had come out this far to get him. "It's hard to keep track of time when you can't see the sun..."

Umbra crossed her arms, tapping a claw as she sternly looked down at her child. A moment passed, before she sighed and spread her arms wide. Tenebrae grinned at her and leaped up into her embrace, letting his mom pat his fur as she turned around to carry him into the village.

Nestled deep in the heart of Blackdell, the village was populated by a people known as the Atrum Tribe. Consisting solely of Zorua and Zoroark, the tribe was one of many such isolated tribes that could be found in Blackdell, as well as occasionally in other regions across Varlaja. Contact with outsiders wasn't forbidden, but the people preferred to keep to themselves and remain self-sufficient.

As Tenebrae was carried back into the village, he looked around at the people preparing for the night. Night was special to them, and as he had been taught from an early age warranted special observances. Fires that had been lit to prepare dinner were extinguished, as were any other lights that had been lit inside the low-roofed huts that dotted the village. Those who weren't already wearing the tribe's customary chalk markings and bone jewelry would dress themselves up, and everyone who was able would congregate to the center of the village.

That was where Umbra was carrying Tenebrae now. He craned his head to see through the masses of other Zoroark who were now cluttering around, Umbra noticing this and lifting him up to place Tenebrae atop her head. The Zorua clung there, burying himself partway into his mom's hair as he looked around from his vantage point.

The center of the village was a circular plaza, with a raised platform in the middle. He noticed the tribe's Elder on the platform, his formerly black fur turned to a dusty gray with age. Beside him was the tribe's Shaman, sitting with crossed legs and almost looking as if he were asleep. Tenebrae had never really met either of them before, only seen them from a distance like this. He knew how important they were to the tribe though, and thus supposedly how important they were to him. Still, apart from them being the oldest Pokemon in the village and having more intricate chalk patterns and jewelry, he couldn't help but admit he didn't know why he was supposed to revere them so much.

Other children in the tribe grew up worshiping their elders, and above all the Tribe Elder and Shaman. To serve and revere them was a part of life, a part which Tenebrae had never ascribed to. This naturally led him to get in trouble a lot, as did misuse of his illusions to prank others. Such as the large dragon he was slowly conjuring in the air above the central platform while quietly snickering to himself.

Fortunately, or for him not, his mom caught sight of the almost wispy particles of light coming together before they could completely form. Reaching up to her head she gave Tenebrae a slap, breaking his concentration and scattering the particles. She reached up and plucked the Zorua off her head, holding him on his back in her arms and looking at him sternly as she scolded him, "Tenebrae! Do you want to be confined to the hut again?"

The playful Zorua stuck his tongue out, drawing an exasperated sigh from Umbra. "Honestly, if you'd just act your age..." She mumbled, bending down to place him on the ground this time. Tenebrae was technically about eighteen years now and as such, should be eligible for his coming of age ceremony and evolution to a Zoroark. Due to the trouble he frequently got in, most agreed he wasn't a suitable fit for it quite yet.

The night ritual soon began, much to Tenebrae's displeasure. He wasn't the fondest of participating in it; perhaps he should have risked staying out later after all. It was even when stranded on the ground, Tenebrae finding himself having to scramble to keep pace with the others around him as the crowd began dancing around the central platform in a circle. Wordless chanting rose louder and louder, and if he could see above the Zoroark that surrounded him Tenebrae would be able to see colorful smoke rising into the air. The Shaman would be using a small fire, the only one allowed in the village during the ritual, to ignite a series of bowls full of colored powder.

A few minutes later and the dancing stopped, Tenebrae stumbling and running into Umbra's legs. She reached down to pick him up again, the Zorua sighing and cuddling into her arms like he was eight years younger than he actually was. They both knew she shouldn't be carrying him like this when he was so old, but it was just one of those things the mother seemed reluctant to give up. Conveniently, Tenebrae didn't mind if she wouldn't stop.

Tenebrae could hear the Elder talking, saying whatever it was he did pretty much every night at this time. He never really paid him much attention, letting his mind drift off to think back to what he had been doing before he had to hurry home. He had found some new ruins, an old cave system that showed clear signs of previous habitation. If there was one moderately adult thing he liked doing it was going off to explore such ruins on his own.

Mom and dad didn't like him doing so, of course. Umbra would chide him for missing meals and getting back to the village late, while Nero, his father, would erupt in anger about how dangerous it is to venture outside without proper warrior training. Training which, naturally, you couldn't receive until you came of age and evolved. Like he was going to wait until then, however long that would take him!

Finally the ritual properly ended, another round of chants rising into the air before the crowd began to disperse, making their way back to their huts or to leave the village and hunt in the dark of night, when it was the easiest to take down unsuspecting prey. As Umbra carried him away, back towards their family's hut, Tenebrae finally saw someone he had been looking for.

She was a Zorua much like him, though smaller and younger. Kicking at Umbra's chest, Tenebrae leapt out of her arms and nimbly ran through the crowds. Umbra tried to chase after him but the Zorua was just too nimble and she soon lost track of him. Freed of his mother, Tenebrae waited until she had left the area before sauntering over to the female Zorua, smiling and slowing as he approached. "Hey Nox, long time no see."

Nox looked over to Tenebrae, tilting her head slightly before a smile spread across her own face and she began to giggle. "Teny... We just saw each other yesterday, silly!"

Tenebrae repressed a shiver at the use of that nickname. Apparently with Nox itself being a nickname for Nocturne, she saw fit to give everyone else around her a nickname as well. He wasn't quite pleased with the one he got, but was willing to put up with it to be around her. "That's too long ago, I say. I was hoping to meet up again today, but I found some new ruins and lost track of time!"

"Ruins, huh? You were out exploring again?" Tenebrae couldn't quite place Nox's tone of voice as she spoke. On one hand, Nox sounded somewhat displeased, but was that because he had been out exploring or because he hadn't been with her? Still, she did seem curious about what had so enraptured Tenebrae's attention so as to keep him away from his own budding girlfriend for a whole day.

"Mmhmm!" Tenebrae went ahead and nodded enthusiastically, placing a paw on Nox's shoulder and drawing in close to her face. "I want to check them out more tomorrow, but, oh, doing so would mean spending time away from you..." Tenebrae put on a look of exaggerated thinking, roughly rubbing his other paw against his chin as he looked away from the girl. "I wonder... Nah, surely you wouldn't..."

"Oh? Surely I wouldn't what? Want to spend time with you in some dirty old cave?" Nox grinned, brushing Tenebrae's paw off her shoulder as she walked in a circle around him. With each rotation she moved closer and closer, until her side was brushing up against his and her tail ran over his face, drawing a blush in its trail. In the end she leaned against his ear, whispering into it, "If it means I get to be with you, I think I can live with some dirt."

Tenebrae found himself flustered beyond the point of being able to talk. His cheeks were a bright red, his jaw working to find words. Noticing that she had managed to effectively stun her lover, Nox drew back and placed a paw to her mouth as she giggled. "But, oh my! Just think of all the dangers! Who knows what fearsome beasts may live in such a place! You'll promise to protect me and keep me safe, right, my dear Teny?"

The flustered male Zorua forced himself to gulp down the knot rising in his throat. "I... I..." he stammered, shaking as his eyes were fixated on Nox. She sure wasn't helping matters, giving another giggle and winking at him. Tenebrae let out an undignified squeak before finally managing to blurt out, "Y-yes! Of course! If anything tries to make us dinner, I promise that we will be feasting on it ourselves before it has the chance!"

Nox giggled, circling back around Tenebrae and planting a kiss on his cheek that left him reeling. "That's my Teny, so strong and confident! I look forward to our little adventure tomorrow," she spoke in a teasing voice, giving him a gentle pat on the head.

The two had been together for just about a week now, and still every time Tenebrae talked to her it felt like his heart was going to pound out of his chest. She knew this, and took full advantage of it to lord over him with seemingly endless teasing. Tenebrae's head felt like it was spinning at the kiss, with the pat on his head sending him over the edge. With a groan he collapsed to the ground, legs sprawled out like a Spinarak. Nox only laughed more at this sight, taking the opportunity to hop up and sit on his back. "Hey, now there's an idea, you can be my mount! Now carry me home!" She exclaimed between giggles.

Tenebrae breathed rapidly, feeling his heart thumping away. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath he forced himself to calm down and eased his breathing, until with one great groan he pulled his legs in and pushed himself up into the air with Nox on top of him. Shakily he took a few steps only to collapse again, but this time because of her weight and not butterflies in his stomach. "I would love to, your highness, but I am afraid you are simply too heavy for poor old Teny!" He croaked out as his voice cracked, making sure to put as much sarcasm on that silly nickname as he could muster.

"Aw, well alas, I suppose I must live with you being but a simple knight," she teased, leaning down over Tenebrae's head and giving his ears a flick before sliding off him and back to her own feet. As she was brushing her fur off, Tenebrae let out a relieved sigh and rose back to his feet again; only, not of his own power.

He was confused at first, the Zorua finding himself rising up into the air seemingly on his own. The next moment he felt the clawed hand that gripped the scruff of his neck. He found himself barely able to move, looking down at Nox as she fell quiet and shied away from whoever held Tenebrae. A moment later he would find out who that was as they turned him around so Tenebrae could look into his captor's face.

Nero was one of the largest Zoroark in the village, his limbs thick and muscular while his dark fur was covered in both aged and fresh scars alike. He looked down at Tenebrae with a stern, unflinching gaze, eliciting a chill that ran through Tenebrae's body. Slowly Tenebrae chuckled nervously, managing to quietly squeak out, "Hey, dad…"

Nero was silent for a moment before shooting a gaze over to Nox. "You. Go." She certainly wasn't one to argue, the female Zorua fleeing the scene before Tenebrae could even manage to twist his body around to see her. Noticing Tenebrae's struggles to move, Nero only tightened his grip which put a stop to that.

Silently at first, Nero turned around and began to walk through the village streets. Passerby looked curiously at the towering Zoroark carrying his son by the scruff, Tenebrae trying to flash a nervous grin at them to assure those curious that he was okay. After a few quiet minutes Nero finally spoke to him, "Do not run away from your mother again."

"Y-yessir," Tenebrae squealed, his voice high in pitch. After a couple more minutes of being carried significantly more uncomfortably than his mother would do it, relief came to him and his sore neck as Nero ducked into their hut through a curtained entrance.

There was little to differentiate the home of Tenebrae, Umbra, and Nero from the rest of the huts in the village. There were three mats for sleeping on separated by small partitions, a small fire pit that had been reignited since the tribe's little ritual with a pot over it, and some bags and baskets scattered around. There was no proper door or anything into the hut, just a cloth curtain along with openings in the roof that served as windows and could be sealed with flaps during the rare times it rained.

Umbra was seated on the ground by the fire pit, looking over as her husband and son entered. Once inside Nero finally released his grasp on the Zorua, Tenebrae letting out an oomph as he fell to the ground, rubbing at his neck. Shooting a scowl at Nero, he crawled over to Umbra and sat down beside her as she ladled out a bowl of soupy broth from the pot and handed it to him.

Tenebrae continued to scowl at Nero as the Zoroark walked over and accepted a bowl as well, the family eating together in a rather tense silence. Finally Umbra broke it as she spoke up, "Did you have fun today, honey?"

The Zorua huffed, sticking his spoon in his mouth and slurping the still hot liquid down. "Oh yeah, plenty! And I'm gonna have more tomorrow, with Nox, who I didn't even get to say goodnight to." Tenebrae's continued glaring at Nero wasn't exactly subtle.

"You should be spending the day with my hunters," Nero glowered back at Tenebrae. "Not wasting your time with the already dead."

Nero wasn't just any Zoroark, as much as Tenebrae was loathe to admit it, Nero served rather highly in the tribe's leadership. He led the clan of hunters who served to both protect the tribe, and, naturally, went out and hunted for food. Not only did they keep the tribe safe, but they also kept it fed. There was no higher calling in the tribe for someone of Tenebrae's age.

Shame he took every opportunity to hang up on that call.

Feeling his anger, rising, Tenebrae began to shout out. "At least I don't have to spend the day with—" His outburst was cut off just in time by a look from Umbra, the mother slowly shaking her head as she knew what her son was about to say. Seething but under control for the moment, Tenebrae shut up and buried his face in his bowl. If he had continued and called his father out, Nero's retaliation would have been swift and harsh.

Instead, the three returned to silence. They finished their supper, Umbra taking the bowls outside the hut to wash out. Nero left again, probably heading out for some late night hunt. Alone in the hut, Tenebrae crawled over to his sleeping mat and laid down in it. He tried to put thoughts of his father out of mind, instead focusing on the future. Tomorrow, he would spend the day with Nox at the ruins! Nothing his dad could do would change that! That thought in mind, Tenebrae quickly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Fortunately, fate wasn't so cruel as to disrupt Tenebrae's plans after all. He almost expected something to happen that would keep him from going out with Nox, but when the morning came and he woke to find Nero still gone he couldn't help but sigh in relief. Umbra was already up and pulled out pieces of bread for the two to eat, before waving Tenebrae goodbye as he ran out for the day.

The streets of Atrum Village were quiet as Tenebrae ran through them. Many of the older Zoroark would still be sleeping at this hour after having stayed up late into the night; only Zorua and younger adults were the ones who tended to get up so early. It didn't take long for him reach Nox's hut, Tenebrae pausing outside for a moment before sticking his head through the curtained covering its entrance.

Right there beyond the door Nox stood, blinking in surprise by the sudden appearance of a Zorua's head through the curtain. She took a step back before realizing who it was, letting out a laugh. "Oh, it's just you, Teny! You're here early."

Tenebrae glanced around Nox's home, noticing what he assumed were her parents still in their beds, asleep. He grinned and ducked into the hut, putting a paw to his muzzle to silence Nox before wrapping a paw around her shoulders and pulling her outside. It was silly, not like Nox couldn't leave on her own, but the two couldn't help but giggle as they pretended to run away from home.

"I-I haven't eaten yet, Tenny!" Nox exclaimed in a daze as her friend pushed her ahead of him, Tenebrae butting against her with his head down now as he ran on all four legs.

"Oh, don't worry. We need to grab some supplies anyway before we leave," Tenebrae responded as he led Nox through the village to a particular spot by the wall. He didn't like keeping his supplies at home out of fear Nero would mess with them, instead he hid them outside.

The pair came to the wall, looming up over them. Not many buildings were around and what were all faced away from the wall, so the location was fairly private. Tenebrae pointed out a pile of stones, starting to move them out of the way; Nox soon joined in and helped out as well. Eventually a small box buried in the dirt was exposed, Tenebrae lifting open its lid to expose its contents.

Inside, the pair found a large bag full of various supplies that were important when traveling or exploring. An old map of the surrounding area, a compass, some rope, a canteen partially filled with water, even a few strips of dried meat. "I have another bag that I left at the ruins last night since I didn't want it to weigh me down in my hurry back, my lantern's there too. You can take this one!"

Nox smiled and accepted the bag as Tenebrae held it up, lowering her head and lifting a paw so he could slip the strap over and around her shoulders. With a pull he tightened the strap for her so the bag was held securely against her side, before pulling out a piece of the dried meat and clasping the flap shut. "I already ate, but you can have this."

She happily took the food and chewed on it as they worked on hiding the box again. With the rocks restored they finally set out, the two Zorua talking to each other as they walked along the wall to the open gate, exiting out into the wasteland beyond. They chatted casually as they walked, their tails hanging low to the ground and brushing at the ashy dust that covered everything. With each step they would disturb the dust and leave footprints, but their tails spread it back out to disguise their trail. It was a basic trick the tribe's kids learned at a young age to keep predators from tracking them down.

The sun had climbed high by the time they reached the ruins, the trip taking Tenebrae longer than it had previously due to their casual pace. When they finally got to the particular hill with the outcropping of rocks atop it and rounded it to find the dark cave entrance there, Tenebrae had to point out to Nox the small signs that it was more than just an ordinary cave. Deliberate carvings in the stone marked it for what it truly was: the long abandoned home of a people who were now, in all likelihood, extinct. On the other hand, Nox pointed out, perhaps they were actually their own tribe's ancestors from a period where living on the surface was more dangerous.

The male Zorua grinned cheerfully, pleased to have a new perspective. Eagerly he pulled Nox inside, ducking into a small room near the entrance to pick up the bag of supplies he had left there the night before in his haste. Among them was one of the tribe's oil-fueled lamps that he had stolen, watching Nox's surprise as he easily ignited it with a twist of a knob. With the lamp casting its light around them to illuminate the dim caves, Tenebrae leaned down and pulled his own bag over his back and shoulders before picking up the lamp in his teeth by a loop on its top. Prepared now, he gestured for Nox to follow and stay close in the pool of light as he continued deeper down into cave-like ruins.

Together the two explored the ruins within the cave for hours on end. Nox, for all her initial disinterest in Tenebrae's expeditions, was surprisingly apt at noticing details he didn't and coming up with theories that would at times conflict with his own but give him an interesting new perspective. They took the occasional break and returned topside to rest and get some fresh air, and when the sun had crested its peak they returned to town to grab something more substantial than jerky to eat at their homes.

Returning to the ruins, they continued exploring for the rest of the day. The caves were vast, with the central tunnel that twisted its way down into the ground branching off at regular points. These branches could themselves fork into even more paths to explore, Tenebrae quickly noting how easy it would be to get lost. Fortunately, in both of the bags he and Nox wore he had stored a handful of colorful stones. He used them to keep track of where they came from, so they could follow the stones back to the main tunnel.

Late in the evening, however, Tenebrae began to grow curious of what rested at the bottom of the main tunnel. He knew that if they continued to explore every branch and room they came to they'd never get to the bottom in time, so he urged Nox to come along with him to the very bottom of the ruins; not as if she had much choice without a lamp of her own. After a while of descending down the sloping tunnel they emerged into a large cavern.

In contrast to the rest of the ruins, this cavern didn't seem to have been touched very much by whoever had lived here before. Most of the cavern was filled with stalagmites that extended up from the ground to nearly touch the tips of matching stalactites that hung down from above, making moving around the cave difficult in places. There were some signs of previous habitation in the form of broken furniture and artwork, making Tenebrae wonder if perhaps this cavern had held special significance.

Following the sound of water, the pair managed to find a spring in a dark corner of the cavern. They refilled their canteens and took turns splashing around in the water, fading the chalk in their fur as they did so; they would have to be reapplied when they returned to the village. Moving on, they continued to look around for a while more without finding any other exits but for a small passage hidden behind a protruding stalagmite.

"Hey Teny, I wonder where this goes!" Nox exclaimed as she crouched down and peered into the hole, whatever lay beyond it shrouded in darkness. Tenebrae set his lantern down and nudged it over to the hole, gesturing towards it.

"Well, how about we find out, then? I can go first, just in case some big bad monster rests in the depths!"

They both shared a laugh, Nox quickly ducking into the hole before Tenebrae could beat her to it. "I'll be the only monster you find back here, rawr!" she yelled out, her voice echoing through the cavern.

Huffing, Tenebrae pushed his lantern into the hole and began to crawl through himself as he pushed the source of light ahead of him. The hole was in fact a short tunnel, only going on for a few feet before emerging into a small cave. Standing beside Nox as he crawled out and picking up the lantern, Tenebrae looked around the cave they had found.

It was fairly small and with a low ceiling that would be a hindrance to taller Pokemon but still remained spacious to the small Zorua. Rocks and rubble filled the open space, but in contrast to the open cavern and decaying ruins they had seen before, this small cave could almost be considered cozy.

"Some cleaning, some lights, a bit of décor…" Tenebrae mumbled, hearing Nox saying something to herself as well. He looked over to her as she glanced back, smiling, before giving a nod to him. Tenebrae couldn't help but respond in kind.

This cave would be their secret spot, just for them! They swore to each other they would tell no one else about it, then set about tidying up their new secret home. Tenebrae shrugged the bag off his back and set its contents out, finding some small candles along with a piece of flint that he carried in case something happened to the lamp. He set the candles up around the cave and ignited them with a strike of a claw to the flint, lighting the cave up even while Nox took the lantern and ventured back into the cavern. A few minutes later she came back with some of the artifacts they had taken note of, arranging them around their little cave for decoration.

By the time they were done the two found themselves lying in each other's arms, looking into their partner's eyes and smiling. Gently they touched their foreheads and muzzles against each other's, Nox giving a lick at Tenebrae's nose. "This was fun, Teny! I'm sorry I didn't come along with you sooner..."

"Shh, that's not what matters now. I'm just glad you did come." Raising his head, Tenebrae gave her a kiss on her forehead, eliciting a happy squeal from her. "It's getting late, should we be heading back?"

"So soon?" Nox teased with a giggle. "Why, this is our home away from home, right? I thought we could spend some time together here, all by ourselves."

Tenebrae smiled, kissing her again but this time moving down to the top of her muzzle. "I was hoping you'd say that. Our parents can go shove it, am I right?"

"Watch out for the big, bad Nero when you get back," Nox said as she pulled a paw up to push Tenebrae's face away. He flinched slightly at her comment, but pushed the thoughts of getting in trouble out of his mind.

"Maybe I'll just have to stay away and never go back to avoid him! We could stay here forever, just you and me..." Tenebrae grabbed at the paw Nox was holding him away with, gently pulling it out of the way as he leaned back towards her again. This time, Nox surprised him when she lunged forward, wrapping her arms behind Tenebrae's head as she kissed him on the lips.

Tenebrae's eyes widened at the abruptness of her kiss, but he was quick to lean into it, holding her tightly as they shared the moment in silence. When they finally broke apart a new look was in both their eyes: an expression of pure, unrestrained love. Tenebrae pulled her back into a kiss again as he rubbed his paws down over her body and through her fur, looking into her eyes with desire. She returned his look with a knowing one, Nox reaching out to her side and twisting the knob on the lamp. The cave was plunged into total darkness, just their soft moans breaking the silence as the two Zorua shared their love for each other.


	5. Fear His Wrath

**-II-** _ **A Lover's Folly**_ **-II-**

Chapter 5: Fear His Wrath

As expected, Tenebrae was in a world of trouble when he returned from the ruins the next morning. As much as he had enjoyed the previous night he had been dreading the morning after. He woke in Nox's arms, but the pair had to quickly depart their secret spot and the ruins without so much time as to even share a kiss.

Leaving behind one of the supply bags for later visits, the two lovers quickly made their way back to the village as the sun rose. They first stopped at Tenebrae's hidden box to stash the second bag and the lantern before heading to Nox's hut. There, Tenebrae finally gave her a quick a hug and a brief kiss before regretfully letting her go and running to his own home.

"Tenebrae!" Umbra yelled, almost crying tears of joy as her son ducked through the fabric curtain at the entrance of their hut. She ran over to sweep him up in her arms, but before she could reach him Nero stepped in between them, pushing Umbra out of the way and glaring at the Zorua. Tenebrae couldn't help but cower before his father's intimidating presence.

"F-father... I can explain..." Tenebrae mumbled, his ears and tail low to the ground. So much for hoping Nero would have been out somewhere last night.

"No. No explaining," Nero spoke, his voice icy cold and with a frightening lack of emotion. "You stayed out late. You broke not just a rule of our tribe, but our trust as your parents. You are not to leave this hut unless escorted by me, until I say so. You will do exactly as I tell you, and you will not speak back."

Tenebrae stared up at his father with barely contained hatred. He hated his father with all his heart, always had. Between the other night when Nero had pulled him away from Nox and now this, it was easy to see why Tenebrae enjoyed spending time away from his family. The only peace he had was to be found in ruins, or the fortunate times that Nero would be away for days or sometimes even a couple weeks at a time.

Clearly, the cause for their conflict was Tenebrae's active refusal to be the son Nero wanted him to be. If Tenebrae were to give in, Nero would have him twisted into the shape of an "ideal" son: one who obeyed the tribe customs, gave up the casual use of illusions, and would follow Nero's path as a proud hunter. Tenebrae didn't want any of that, he hated the idea of such a life. He wanted to lash out, to strike back, to run away and be with Nox forever. Yet, all that came out was a meek, "Yes father," as he withered under the sheer strength of Nero's gaze.

The intimidating Zoroark turned to Umbra and gave a nod before rudely stepping over Tenebrae and walking out of the hut. Umbra gave her son a pitying look as he slowly sulked over to his bed, curling up in it and staring at nothing in particular. So he remained for pretty much the rest of the day, barely even eating when Umbra called him over for lunch and dinner.

As the sun set, Tenebrae found himself lying on his back in bed. His mind was filled with thoughts of Nox, his love for her, and his longing to be with her again. He wanted a repeat of the previous night, with the two together in their own little world. Instead he was in the home he hated, watched over by his caring yet powerless mother. His thoughts soon turned to sneaking out, waiting until Umbra fell asleep so he could slip out unnoticed. Those plans fell apart when Nero returned, ducking through the curtained door. Tenebrae could feel Nero's gaze upon him even as he turned to the side and looked at the hut's wall.

So the next day went. The exciting life he wished for, full of adventures in ruins and sharing his passion with Nox, fell by the wayside. He didn't even try to find ways to entertain himself, Tenebrae simply laying and staring blankly at the wall, ceiling, or floor all day long. He spoke barely a word to Umbra, and not a single one to Nero.

On the third day of his confinement, Nero commanded Tenebrae to follow him. He was led through the village, to the hunter's camp. There Nero made him watch as the hunters practiced and dueled. It was as if the sight was supposed to increase Tenebrae's interest, but all it did was reinforce his desire to do anything but follow in his dad's footsteps. He wasn't a fighter, and seeing such displays only reinforced his abhorrence towards the idea of a life filled with fighting and death.

Tenebrae's boring confinement continued for the rest of the week and beyond, but finally on the eighth day luck shone on him. Lying in bed and pretending not to pay attention, he overheard Umbra and Nero talking. The hunters were being called out to deal with a pack of feral Camerupt that had ventured too close to the village. They could be gone for a week or more as they tracked the pack and laid traps to thin their numbers before launching the final assault to wipe out the last of them. A smile twisted across Tenebrae's face as he heard his father grab his gear and depart. With any luck, perhaps an accident would happen out there and Tenebrae would never see him again.

Well aware that Tenebrae had heard all of that, Umbra came over and told him that he was to remain inside until Nero returned, at which point they could discuss his continued punishment. He went along with it like a good son, but after she had fallen asleep that night he was out of there. Making sure he was unseen Tenebrae slipped out of the hut, walking through the dark village to Nox's hut.

Despite his anxiousness to see her again, Tenebrae found himself faltering as he stood outside Nox's home. It hadn't occurred to him how late it was and that she would likely be asleep now. Sneaking inside her hut to wake her was a possibility, but he hadn't met her parents before and didn't want being caught by them to be their first contact. He leaned against the canvas wall of the hut as he thought over what to do, but almost as soon as he began pondering options he heard a pair of whispering voices approach.

Quickly, Tenebrae ducked away from where he could hear the voices approaching, jamming himself in between a pair of huts. Shimmering lights circled around Tenebrae as he twisted light itself to form the mirage of an inconspicuous barrel around him, which hopefully wouldn't look out of place. Holding still and hunching down to maintain the illusion, he watched as two figures appeared out of the darkness. As they grew closer and Tenebrae could see them clearer, his eyes went wide at what he saw.

One of them was Nox, but beside her was a Zorua Tenebrae hadn't seen before. He didn't wear the chalk markings of the Atrum tribe nor its bone jewelry, but rather was covered in colorful lines. They were drawn with what Tenebrae assumed was berry juice, and they seemed to be less random and more artistic in nature. When the strange Zorua leaned close to Nox and wrapped his arms around her in a hug, Tenebrae was aghast. Who was this stranger, and what was he doing with Nox!

"I've had a fun night, Nocturne," the stranger spoke using Nox's full name. She didn't even let Tenebrae call her that, only her parents did as far as he knew. So not only was she way too physically close to this guy, but they called her by her full name too?

Nox gave a shy smile and an awkward hug in return, pressing her forehead against his. "You know I don't let many call me that, Caligo." She placed emphasis on the stranger's name, mocking and teasing him. She wasn't upset at the use of her full name, just playfully teasing this Caligo who had dared use it instead of her preferred Nox. If Tenebrae ever tried calling her Nocturne he was certain she would react with anger and indignation despite with their closeness; to not mind with this stranger...

"Surely you won't get mad if I do? I thought we were close enough for that," Caligo teased, placing a paw beneath Nox's chin and lifting it up to stare her in the eyes. He was taller than her, but that was hardly surprising. Nox was quite short, as the females of Tenebrae's tribe tended to be.

Nox mused for a moment, before nodding with a smile. "So we are. All right, call me Nocturne, but that just means I won't give you a nickname."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Caligo replied, giving Nox another tight hug.

Tenebrae's heart just about dropped out of his chest at the display. This Caligo... This strange foreigner... He didn't know what they were doing in the Atrum Tribe's village, but they didn't belong here and now he was getting close to Nox? Tenebrae's Nox? He began to shake with rage, the illusion he was hiding within threatening to dissipate and give him away. Struggling to hold his anger in Tenebrae waited for the two to part ways, Nox soon disappearing inside her hut while Caligo walked off through the village.

The illusion flew apart when Caligo was out of sight, Tenebrae pounding his paws angrily at the ground until he had carved out a small depression. Nox! He hadn't seen her in just eight days and already she was over him? There was no mistaking it after all; that closeness, that love Nox and Caligo had... The thought of Tenebrae's love being with another man only fanned the flames of rage that roared within Tenebrae.

Or... Maybe it was this Caligo, placing the moves on her and trying to pull her away from him? She couldn't WANT to leave Tenebrae, could she? Their love that night a week ago had been so pure, so true, how could she possibly betray him like this?! Yet even if it was Caligo instigating her, prying her away from him, she didn't seem shy about returning any affection...

Tenebrae ran off into the night. He couldn't stand being in the village now, not with what he had just seen. He fled out of the village so he could unleash his anger freely, bursting past the night guards and hoping they couldn't make out who he was. Left to wander through the wastes, after about an hour Tenebrae found himself at the top of an ashy mound out of sight of the village. Finally he let loose with a cry of anger and anguish, rearing his head back and letting it all pour out. Crimson energy spark around his paws as he lifted them into the air before slamming them back down, a powerful shockwave radiating out from him and sending dust flying.

When his voice finally died down and the crackling of the night daze faded, the world returned to silence. Soon the Zorua began to pant tiredly, exhausted by his tirade. Slowly he began the trek back to the village, thoughts of what he could do now flitting through his mind.

He couldn't approach Nox about this, no. Not now. Tenebrae would have to wait, and watch. He needed to learn more of whom this Caligo was, and what he was doing in the village. Then, when the time was right, he would move in. Tenebrae wasn't sure how, but he knew he would destroy this Caligo. He had to. Tenebrae would drive Caligo out of the village so Nox could be his again.

Yes... That was it. Tenebrae would sour Caligo in Nox's eyes so she would no longer desire him and realize that Tenebrae was truly her love. She would ask for him to take her back, and he would accept. Tenebrae would forgive her, and together they would live happily, just like it had seemed they would that night a week ago.

A grin twisted across Tenebrae's face as he walked through the night, thinking of his revenge. Before this was all over, Caligo would fear his wrath.

* * *

The first issue Tenebrae had to overcome was his confinement. If all he could do to investigate this Caligo was sneaking out at night, achieving his revenge would be significantly more difficult. He needed to be able to move freely, whenever he wanted. At first he considered trying to trick his mother with mirages; perhaps he could make one of him in bed even while he was out. Maintaining such a mirage from a distance would be hard though and require him to dedicate part of his attention to it.

In the end, Tenebrae accepted that he needed to confront the problem head on. The morning after his outpouring of rage, he confronted his mom. "Mother... I was wondering if we could talk."

They were in the middle of eating breakfast, and Umbra was quite surprised to hear Tenebrae speak after he had been nearly silent for the past week. She set down the fork she was eating her eggs and sausage with and lowered the plate she held, looking to her son. "Go ahead."

"I was hoping we could discuss this punishment," Tenebrae said, his voice serious and respectful in tone for once; he really needed her to understand. "It's been a week, and I was hoping you could let me spend some time outside while father is gone."

"Tenebrae, yesterday you agreed that you would stay inside," Umbra sighed, shaking her head. "He was clear that you weren't to be let out while he's gone, and you know I can't defy him."

Tenebrae's mouth twisted into a frown and he managed to work up some tears. "You never asked why I was gone that night... I was with someone, a girl, who I love..." More tears came as Tenebrae continued, putting on the best show he could manage. "All this week I've wanted to see her again, to be with her again. I love her, mom. I can't stand not being with her. I'm sorry for not telling you where I was, but it was so spontaneous. Please, won't you let me see her? Father doesn't need to know, and when he's back I'll stay inside until he says otherwise. Just please, mother. For just these next few days..." The best part was his story wasn't even a lie, just what his intentions were.

The Zorua slumped over as he finished, idly pushing his food around his plate and letting a few tears drop onto it for effect. He didn't look up, but knew his mom was deep in thought from her silence. It was true that she wasn't to defy Nero, but he knew that she thought this was a cruel punishment and disagreed with it. Hopefully with the knowledge of Tenebrae's lover and his reason for having stayed out she would relent...

"All right," Umbra finally said, her shoulders slacking down as she submitted. "But just until your father returns, and if he finds out you left the house while he was gone it's because you sneaked out without my permission. You understand?"

Tenebrae sniffled and looked up with a smile, his eyes wet from the forced tears. "Th-thank you, mother! I promise I'll behave myself, and I won't stay out late again!"

Umbra gave a wry smile and a sigh as she shook her head. "Oh, my Tenebrae... I know better than to believe that."

Tenebrae quickly finished eating before making immediate use of his newly regained freedom to head outside into the village. He had to track down Caligo if he hoped to learn more about him, and he knew that the best place to do that would be the small market that set up in the center of the village since practically all paths led through it. Tenebrae made his way there, pushing through the legs of Zoroark who rose above him until he reached the platform at the center of the plaza which at night the Elder and Shaman used for their little ritual.

During the day the platform was largely empty but for other kids hanging around and so proved the ideal place for Tenebrae to stakeout. He settled in against a crate, letting his eyes scan over the crowds as they passed below. There were lots of people, and with them all being Zorua and Zoroark it made distinguishing a specific person a bit more difficult. Fortunately, Tenebrae had something else to identify Caligo by than just his shape.

It took a while, but before the hour was up Tenebrae's eyes finally came to rest on what he had been looking for. A rather peculiar Zorua by the tribe's customs, with colorful, artistic lines running through his fur instead of the pale white ones everyone else wore. Caligo stuck out from the crowd, easily marking him as Tenebrae's target.

Tenebrae kept his eyes on the other Zorua as they walked through the crowds, until Caligo had reached one of the exits that led from the plaza and into the village. Quickly Tenebrae leaped to his feet, jumping down off the platform and setting out to follow his target. He walked at a distance and would pause behind crates or huts as he watched Caligo walking through the village, Tenebrae doing his best to stay out of sight. Using a mirage with this many people around would be hard and probably draw more attention than he wanted, so he had to rely on old fashioned stealth.

Tailing after Caligo, Tenebrae made his way through the village. Finally he emerged near the outskirts that butted up against the tall mountains, Tenebrae blending in with a small crowd as the other Zorua made their way to a particular hut. It had a rather tall peaked roof, and while Tenebrae hadn't been over here often he recognized the place nonetheless: the tribe Shaman's hut. What was Caligo doing there?

Tenebrae waited for Caligo to enter, then waited a few minutes more. When it seemed Caligo wasn't going to come right back out, Tenebrae slowly approached the hut. Stopping before the doors he looked up at its tall peak, quickly formulating a plan before stepping inside.

It was dark in the Shaman's hut, with just a few candles lit. Smoke seemed to fill the single room, the haze dimming Tenebrae's vision. Straining to look through it, he saw Caligo talking with the old Zoroark he knew to be the Shaman from the rituals he held with the Elder. "Excuse me?" He called out as he approached the pair.

"Ah, a visitor?" The Shaman asked as he turned to look at Tenebrae, his wrinkled face examining the small Zorua. "My my, Caligo. How similar he looks to you!"

The colorfully-marked Zorua looked at Tenebrae quizzically, and when he himself looked back to Caligo Tenebrae couldn't help but note that they did appear similar. They were both around the same size, appeared to be the same age, their fur even curled the same; it was as if they were mirrors of each other. Tenebrae blinked, caught off guard before regaining his composure and chuckling. "Huh, so we do! I've never seen you around before though, and I think I would have remembered if I did."

"Indeed, Caligo here is from our sister tribe. He is visiting on a pilgrimage, to learn our ways and so I may impart on him my knowledge," the Shaman explained. Tenebrae inwardly grinned at how conveniently easy it was to find that out, but kept his curious face on the outside.

"Pleased to meet you," Caligo said with a slight bow, Tenebrae noticing the change in tone from the previous night. While with Nox he had spoke more casually, but here he was more formal. He and Nox must be close then; another nail in the coffin, perhaps?

"Now then, what can I do for you?" The Shaman asked Tenebrae, peering down at him with a powerful gaze.

"I know we've not met before, but my name is Tenebrae," he spoke, watching Caligo for any sign of recognition. There was none, but it made sense. If Nox was seeing someone else while Tenebrae was locked away at home, she wouldn't have told Caligo of him. "I was hoping I could seek the advice of you and the spirits on a matter of love."

"Ah, young love is it?" The Shaman reached up to stroke a tuft of hair that curled down from his chin, a twinkle in his eyes.

Tenebrae gave a nod before explaining, "There's this girl I like, but... I believe another guy is becoming close to her, and fear that she may be developing feelings for him in return." Once more he watched Caligo out of the corner of his eyes, but of course there was no response. "Surely the spirits have some wisdom for a situation like this?"

The old Zoroark's smile only seemed to broaden as he nodded in thought for a moment, before speaking. "My dear, there is no need to convene the spirits for this question. Indeed, I was in a similar situation myself long, long ago..." With a wave of his hands he gestured for Tenebrae to take a seat, the Zorua settling down on a cushion as the Shaman began his rather long tale.

The similarity to Tenebrae's situation was almost startling. The Shaman told of a girl he loved deeply and how they had committed their love for each other, just as Tenebrae and Nox had. Then, the young Zorua who would become Shaman was called away from the village, on his own pilgrimage much like Caligo was going through. When he returned excited to share tales of his journey with his love, he found her in the arms of another.

At first outraged, he contained and controlled his anger in accordance to his strict learnings. Instead of lashing out, he confronted her to talk the situation over. At first she was surprised by his return and the Shaman feared that she had taken him for dead, but the next thing he knew she had embraced him and confessing her love! As it turned out, the boy he had seen her with wasn't her boyfriend at all. He had merely mistaken the signs of friendship and platonic affection for romance.

"And so, what you should take from that story is to be honest with your loved ones," the Shaman spoke as he finished up his story, several hours having passed and leaving Tenebrae rather tired from the experience. "If you are truly in love, you can be sure that it will work out in the end. Embrace your love, not anger or betrayal, and let it guide you to a peaceful solution." The Shaman reached to a pipe that sat on the low table in front of him, pouring a small amount of dried leaves in before igniting it with a small piece of flint, gently inhaling the smoke it produced.

Tenebrae sat in silence for a moment before standing up. He gave a nod to the Shaman and Caligo, his eyes lingering on the latter for a moment longer. Was he perhaps mistaken about the other Zorua's relationship with Nox? "Thank you for guidance, I must leave now," he quietly mumbled, not waiting for a response before hurrying outside and leaving the Shaman and Caligo in slight confusion at his rapid exit.

The love-struck Zorua wandered aimlessly through the village for a few minutes before ducking into a small alcove between two of the larger huts. His heart was pounding and head seemed to be spinning. Perhaps he really, truly was wrong about this after all... But what was he supposed to do? Perhaps he should do as the Shaman did, just go talk to Nox about this. The logical side of his mind tried to pull him towards Nox's hut, but still he resisted.

He knew what he saw, there was no mistaking it. Nox and Caligo loved each other, he was certain of it, and he simply could not let that stand. Angrily he kicked at the ground repeatedly until he had dug out a small impression, panting and breathing heavily from the brief exertion. Perhaps the Shaman's advice would be true in any other situation, but in this one... No, Tenebrae would stay the course.

Unfortunately, that course now meant getting close to the very person he hated: Caligo.

* * *

Tenebrae returned to the central plaza and waited on the platform for much of the rest of the day. He was tempted to head out to the ruins to try and take his mind off things and calm down, but he feared that memories of his night with Nox there would only worsen his mood. So he simply waited, thinking and plotting how he could achieve his revenge.

Caligo was on a pilgrimage, so perhaps there could be something he could do with that. Sabotage his chances at becoming a shaman? Perhaps his failure could drive a wedge between him and Nox, allowing Tenebrae to swoop in and hammer it in until they split apart. Indeed, setting him up for failure seemed to be the best option, but how would he go about that?

Mulling over his options as the sun set lower in the sky, Tenebrae didn't notice as he was approached. "Hey, you're the one who stopped in this morning aren't you?" a voice asked, snapping Tenebrae out of his thoughts. Glancing over, he found none other than a familiarly colorful-marked Zorua standing there: Caligo himself.

Tenebrae blinked and jumped to his feet, surprised by being snuck up on like that. He really needed to pay more attention to his surroundings at times. What was Caligo doing here, though? Had he worked out who Tenebrae was and had come to put a stop to his plans? "Oh, hey, I didn't see you approaching. And you're... The Zorua who was with the Shaman, right? His assistant or something?"

Caligo smiled, sitting down to extend a paw to Tenebrae. Curiously Tenebrae took it in his own, Caligo shaking the paw as he nodded. "Something like that, I suppose you can say. I never got to properly introduce myself back there, so let's try that again. My name is Caligo, you're Tenebrae right?"

His enemy's politeness threw Tenebrae off guard. Perhaps he had built Caligo up to be this big, evil menace in his mind and to see him so friendly now clashed with that vision. Still, he knew that just because he may seem nice didn't mean he actually was. "Yes," Tenebrae finally responded with a nod. "It's Tenebrae, right. Ah, mind if I ask where you're from exactly?" His eyes went to the colorful marks over Caligo's body, the lines which seemed to be drawn from berry juice in comparison to the chalk Tenebrae had always known his own people to use.

"Ah, yes, I do stick out don't I?" Caligo held his paws up in front of him, looking over the marks that ran down his legs all the way to the paws. "I believe it was mentioned I'm from your sister tribe, yes? The Nigrum Tribe. Have you heard of it?"

Tenebrae shook his head. He knew of the existence of other tribes of course, and that his own Atrum tribe held some sort of relation to them, but didn't know about any of them in particular. "No, I've only known of the Atrum Tribe. Is Nigrum far?"

Caligo gave a nod, hopping off the platform to the ground below and motioning for Tenebrae to follow. Almost reluctantly he did so, walking alongside Caligo as they wandered through the tribal village. "Yes, it's a good distance away. We're actually near the Blackdell-Freyden border, where the land is more fertile." Caligo paused a moment to stamp a paw at the cracked, dry ground, frowning slightly.

"So, I'm guessing you grow berries there?" Tenebrae asked, watching as Caligo smeared some of the ashy dust around where he had pounded the ground before continuing to walk.

"Ah, so you can recognize what my markings are from?"

With a nod, Tenebrae explained, "Sure. We may not be able to grow berries here, but my father would sometimes return with them as a gift. I'd always make a mess of them though, and so am familiar with how berry juice looks stained on fur."

Caligo laughed at that, Tenebrae joining in with a couple lighthearted chuckles. He couldn't help but smile at the memories of being stained with berry juice as a young kit. "Oh, I can only imagine!" Caligo said between laughs before getting them under control. "But yes, we grow berries and take enough pride in them to decorate our bodies with their juice. Perhaps it was even from our tribe that your father got those berries from."

"He's a hunter," Tenebrae said, answering a question that hadn't been asked. "Actually, to be specific, he leads the hunters. But, yes, it does mean he can travel far and for long. I don't really want to do that though... Killing for a life, it's not for me." The Zorua let out a wary sigh, shaking his head out. For some reason he couldn't help but find himself getting comfortable around Caligo. If only he hadn't sworn that he was an enemy, perhaps they could be friends. At the very least, he could act like one.

"It's good to follow in your parent's footsteps, but there is just as much wisdom in finding your own path," Caligo nodded in response, sounding like a true shaman.

The pair of Zorua slowed to a stop, Caligo looking at the hut they had arrived at. It was larger than most, Tenebrae recognizing it as being intended for communal housing. It made sense that a guest of the tribe would stay there, not having a hut of his own in the village. "What about you?" Tenebrae asked as they hung around the hut's entrance. "You're training to be a shaman... Is that the same as your parents?"

For the first time, Tenebrae detected a slip in Caligo's expression. His smile turned to a frown for just a split second, but nearly instantly he recovered. "Not exactly, but that's not important. What I'm curious about is what you wish to do if not become a hunter?"

Tenebrae leaned back against the communal hut in thought. His brows furrowed and he looked down to the ground, before glancing over at Caligo. "Tell you what: meet me tomorrow and I'll show you."

The colorfully-marked Zorua looked at Tenebrae inquisitively before nodding and keeping up his seemingly ever-present smile. "All right, but you better not back out on me. We can meet at that plaza again, where we did today, around noon when the sun is highest."

Tenebrae smiled back, raising a paw in a friendly gesture. "You got it. See you then, and may the night watch over you."

* * *

It was a risk taking Caligo out with him. The entire plan was for Tenebrae to get close to Caligo in order to expose his weaknesses, yes, but by taking him along to the ruins Tenebrae couldn't help fear that it could expose his own weakness. Still, the next day he found himself leaving town with the other Zorua by his side.

The two chatted casually as they walked, journeying through the Blackdell wastes. They talked about boring, normally uninteresting stuff such as tribal customs that suddenly became a lot more interesting when they had someone else with different traditions to discuss it with. Around an hour of walking later and they finally arrived at the entrance to the ruins.

It looked as if nothing had changed since Tenebrae was last there a bit over a week ago. Not that it should have; in the grand scale of things that wasn't even a blink of the eye of course. The ruins had been there much longer and would remain for longer still. Tenebrae paused there in the entrance, looking down the gently sloping tunnel that stretched out before them and the empty doorways that led out to the sides.

"Something wrong?" Caligo asked, noticing Tenebrae's uneasiness. He had slung the supply pack off from his back, having offered to carry it for Tenebrae. Unhooked the lantern from the side of the bag, Caligo ignited its flame before pulling the pack back over him.

Yes, something was wrong. Memories of his time with Nox there were flooding back to Tenebrae just as he feared would happen. With dim eyes he recalled their time wandering the ruins, exploring it, before finding that small cave and spending the night together. Tenebrae frowned before sighing wistfully and pulling back on the emotional mask he had been displaying to Caligo. "No, it's nothing."

Caligo eyed Tenebrae as the sullen Zorua walked forward again, before the foreigner shook his head out and raised a paw to place on his supposed friend's shoulder. "Oh, you can't hide that look from me. There's something special about this place to you, so come on now, what's up?"

Tenebrae shrugged the paw off his shoulder, continuing to walk. He was starting to think it was a bad idea to bring Caligo. "The last time I was here, I was with a girl. I love her, and I thought she loved me, but the next time I saw her she was with someone else. She's why I went to talk to the Shaman yesterday." He was a couple meters ahead of Caligo, at the edge of the light cast through the entrance and the lantern. Tenebrae looked over his shoulder back to Caligo, just barely managing to drain the rage from his face while keeping the sadness.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Caligo fidgeted in thought for a moment, before shrugging and gesturing with his raised arms. "We can go back, if this is too hard for you."

The troubled Zorua actually considered that for a moment, wondering if maybe this was a bad enough idea he should just back out of it now. Finally, though, Tenebrae refused with a shake of his head; getting close to Caligo like this was all part of the plan and he would have to deal with all that brought. "No, I'll be fine. You wanted to see what I'd like to do, and I do want to show you." Tenebrae sighed, forcing the sadness away and adopting a smile. "Come on, let's go."

The two Zorua spent a while exploring the ruins. Tenebrae had seen a lot of it already, but there were a few hallways that led off the main tunnel that he hadn't been down before, especially near the bottom where Nox and him had rushed. Together they picked through the remains of what appeared to be housing units, communal recreation areas, cafeterias, even shops. Everything was deteriorated to the point where it could be hard to identify at first glance, but look deeper and one could make out the signs of ancient life.

All the while, Tenebrae watched Caligo out of the corner of his eyes. The other Zorua was intrigued by the ruins, Tenebrae could tell. Like himself, Caligo was curious about what had come before and had could have happened to the people who lived there. They truly were alike, which made it all the more frustrating to keep trying to plot how he would get his grand revenge. Once more, Tenebrae couldn't help but find himself in doubt.

"Hey, Tenebrae?" Caligo spoke up as they were walking at one point, Tenebrae snapping out of his thoughts and glancing over.

"Yeah?"

"I was just thinking... Ah, it's silly, but I have a girl I love too, you know."

Tenebrae's heart almost stopped as he felt a chill embrace his body, though his eyes remained fixated on Caligo. "Is that so?"

"Mmhmm," the unsuspecting Zorua nodded, smiling longingly. "Admittedly, I haven't known her that long, but... Well, she spoke of how she had been with another before me. I suppose thinking on it, it reminds me of your situation in a way. Of course, she also told me of how her previous boyfriend was inattentive, leaving her for days on end without so much as a word. I've only known you for a short time, but that doesn't seem like you."

Tenebrae's heart sunk as he heard those words. Inattentive...? Was that what Nox thought of him? No... It couldn't be... He had only been confined for a week! Then again, to her... She wouldn't know of what happened, of his punishment. In Nox's eyes Tenebrae may as well have abandoned her. He forced himself to chuckle, but inside he couldn't help but feel dead. "O-oh, that's interesting."

Caligo gave a nod and walked over to Tenebrae, slapping a paw across his shoulders and squeezing slightly. "Hey, hang in there, okay? I'm sure everything will work out between you two, just go talk to her, all right?"

Tenebrae couldn't get out of those ruins fast enough, but he had to play along. He felt his body shaking as they continued their little exploration trip, but Tenebrae couldn't get into it anymore. All it took was those few key words to break him. Right when he had been starting to wonder if he could be friends with Caligo and work this whole business with Nox out, the foreign Zorua had gone and said the worst thing possible.

After an hour or so of further exploring, Caligo finally admitted he had seen enough. Tenebrae practically ran up the winding tunnel to the exit in darkness, emerging under the setting sun. He looked back down to where he could see the light of Caligo's lantern climbing the tunnel, shouting down to him, "Race you back to the village!"

"H-hey, that's unfair!" Caligo whined, but Tenebrae could barely hear it as he sprinted away.

Of course, he didn't really care about beating Caligo back to the village. Tenebrae just wanted to get away from him, to be on his own again. He found a boulder stuck partway into the cracked ground off the direct path to the village, ducking behind it so that if Caligo came running by he wouldn't be seen.

All at once Tenebrae let out his breath, breathing rapidly as he tried to calm himself down. Nox... How could he have done that to her? All this time Tenebrae hadn't been thinking of what she would feel about his absence; inattentive? That was the last thing he wanted to be! Caligo... Had he seen how distressed Nox was and swooped in to claim her for his own? What other explanation could there be!

Tenebrae wasn't sure how long he stayed out there, but it was at least several hours. He was certain Caligo must have made it back to the village only to wonder where Tenebrae had gone. By the time Tenebrae pulled himself to his feet again night had fallen, making the trip back to the village hazardous and slowing him down even further without the lantern Caligo had been carrying. Umbra likely wouldn't be too pleased at him staying out so late.

He estimated it would be around midnight by the time the village walls came into Tenebrae's sight. Tenebrae approached the lit gates shrouded in darkness, only for a familiar pinprick of light to appear in the distance. Stopping as he saw the light approach, Tenebrae once more covered himself in a mirage; this time a small rock that would be difficult to make out in the darkness.

Two figures formed in the light as they drew closer, the scene eerily familiar. Tenebrae almost dreaded what he would see, but could only hope that he was mistaken. His gut sank as they walked close enough for him to make out.

Caligo and Nox, once again returning from some late night walk together. What were they doing outside the village? They walked together in silence, Nox leaning against her apparent replacement for Tenebrae's position as boyfriend. At first he thought it was just a gesture of her attachment to him, but as they stepped into the light at the village gates he noticed Nox's limp.

Not just a limp, however; she was almost dragging a leg behind her. Her body was battered and bruised, fur caked with blood. Tenebrae almost cried out and gave himself away as he saw Nox's injuries and the sad, forlorn look on her face. Beside her Caligo was unharmed, smiling as he looked down at the beaten Zorua at his side.

"Look on the bright side: the more pain you feel, the faster you'll get used to it," Caligo spoke, there seeming to be something different to his voice than when he had been with Tenebrae just hours earlier. "And trust me, there's going to be a lot more pain."

The two Zorua disappeared through the gates and into the village, Tenebrae feeling his hair stand on end and an icy chill wash over him. Caligo... What had he said? Pain? Had he... He couldn't have... But, it was quite clear... Caligo had hurt Nox!

The illusion shattered around Tenebrae as his concentration broke, not as if it was needed anymore. All this time, throughout the day and yesterday, he had believed that Caligo and he could be friends, but now... Caligo wasn't a friend, he wasn't even good. He had beaten Nox, and he was going to do it again. He wasn't a friend or a lover or anything; he was just a lowly abuser, putting on a mask of kindness towards Tenebrae just as Tenebrae wore in return.

Tenebrae breathed heavily and clutched his chest, feeling his heart pounding fast enough it was as if it would burst out. His previous plan to destroy Caligo, to drive him away from Nox and out of town? Forget it. No, that wouldn't work now. This turn of events warranted a much more involved touch, more drastic measures. One which he hadn't wanted to resort to, but which Tenebrae now saw no choice.

Caligo must die.


	6. No One to Blame But You

**-II-** _ **A Lover's Folly**_ **-II-**

Chapter 6: No One to Blame But You

Tenebrae couldn't sleep that night. Visions of Nox leaving him due to his neglect and inattentiveness overlapped with visions of Caligo beating her, blending into a torrent of nightmarish sights. The sound of paws hitting flesh and claws rending it aside echoed through his mind, each impact severe as an explosion. A flash of red, dark and crimson red, splashed over Tenebrae's mind and he could see Nox lying in the dirt, broken and beaten. She begged for Tenebrae to help her while cursing him for having left.

Every time he thought he was falling asleep, Tenebrae would bolt wide awake in a cold sweat. The hut was quiet in the dead of night, only his mother's breathing and small motions audible. Still, he could swear he began to hear noises, as if someone was walking outside right behind the canvas wall he slept next to.

 _"The bitch is mine, you never should have left her alone."_

It was Caligo's voice, whispering in Tenebrae's head. He knew it was just his imagination, that the Zorua he so hated wasn't really there. Still, the voice wouldn't go away, whispering vile thoughts all through the rest of the night.

When morning finally came and the sun began to rise it was with sweet relief. Light peeked through the windows set into the top of the hut and pushed the terrors of the night away. Trying to calm his shaking, Tenebrae did his best to catch an hour or two of sleep before Umbra would force him out of bed.

In his sleep, Caligo returned. Tenebrae tossed and turned as he dreamed a nightmare of Caligo brutally mutilating Nox. Tenebrae was helpless, finding himself unable to move, forced to watch as the evil Zorua dismembered Tenebrae's love limb by limb. With one final swipe of Caligo's oversized knife Nox's head fell lifelessly to the ground, staring at Tenebrae before opening its mouth to speak.

 _"Teny, why...? Why did you leave me?"_

Thankfully, he was awoken by Umbra shaking his shoulder. Tenebrae's eyes snapped open, darting around before staring up at his mother. "Did you have nightmare?" She asked. From how his blanket and the straw that made up his bed had been scattered around, Tenebrae could only imagine how fitful his sleep must have been. Feebly he nodded, eyes turning away from Umbra.

"Well, there there, mother will protect you." Umbra picked Tenebrae up, holding him in her arms as she hummed and rocked him from side to side as if he was still a cub. He wanted to groan and squirm his way free, insisting that now wasn't the time to be treated like a child; yet, as tired, weak, and shaken as he was he found himself in no position to object.

"Hey, mom... Do you know a boy named Caligo?" Tenebrae found himself murmuring, pressing his head against his mother's chest.

"Caligo?" Umbra thought for a moment before shaking her head. "No, can't say I do."

"Mmm... That's okay. I went to the ruins with him yesterday; I think we're going back today." Tenebrae nuzzled in closer, unsure why he was telling her this. He supposed he just needed someone to mention it to, just in case. Just in case something went horribly wrong.

"Ruins... Like the ones you stayed overnight at?"

Tenebrae nodded his head slowly. "The same ones. They're about half an hour to an hour's walk northwest of the village. The entrance is a cave on the back of a small hill identified by an outcropping of stacked rocks on top of it. It's dark inside, so you need to bring a lantern." There was always the chance that in his attempt to kill Caligo, his entire plan could backfire. If someone knew where he was going, at least he could be sure they would know where to look.

"My... I hope it's not dangerous in there," Umbra said with a light chuckle. "Well, instead of being held all day you all day you should be off to play with your friend."

With that Umbra bent down and set Tenebrae on the ground, letting him go. He opened his mouth to say something, to refute the idea that Caligo was his friend, but shut it. There was no reason for her to know that much. Instead he walked to the hut's door, pausing a moment to look back at his mother. "I'll see you later tonight, mom."

* * *

Tenebrae had left home before he could even get something to eat for breakfast. He stumbled through the streets with his tiredness and hunger weighing on him. Not many people were out quite this early, but that only made it easier for him to peek into barrels and crates until he found one stuffed with chunks of day old bread. Eagerly he pulled one out, making sure he was unseen as he quickly ate and felt some amount of energy return to him.

With that taken care of, he moved on to his destination. First, he went to his hiding spot by the wall to check if Caligo had returned the bag they had been carrying. Rather expectedly, Tenebrae found the buried box empty. Of course Caligo would steal his stuff, if he was already abusing Nox what more was a bit of theft? Well, good thing two could play at that game.

The village had a small trading post people could trade for supplies at, Tenebrae running through the streets until it came into sight. Unlike most of the buildings in the village it was made of hard packed clay and had an actual door that, sure enough, Tenebrae found to be locked. He rubbed a paw over his chin as he walked around the building, looking for any entrance into it.

There were no other doors, but as with the fabric huts the trading post had a ring of windows set into the top of the building. Tenebrae scrambled on top of a pile of crates that was set against the building, managing to leap from them and onto the roof. His paws slipped at first but he managed to find purchase against the smooth clay, crawling towards those windows and peering down inside.

The trading post looked to be deserted. All Tenebrae could see inside were shelves holding various items and an empty counter without anyone behind it. Even better, the window was just an empty frame due to the lack of any rain out here and it appeared to be perfectly sized for a Zorua. Tenebrae squeezed his way through the window, dropping down on the rugged-floor inside.

Within the trading post, Tenebrae's eyes scanned along the dim shelves for what he was looking for. First a new bag to replace the one Caligo had kept, then supplies to fill it with. A good length of rope, a supply of preserved food, a canteen full of water, a map of Blackdell, a small compass with an attached sundial, some bandages, a piece of flint, some candles, and of course another lantern along with a bottle of oil.

Adjusting the bag against his side, Tenebrae frowned as he looked around once more. On a shelf behind the counter he spotted a small knife, hesitating before walking over to it. It was about five or six inches long he guessed, its blade kept within a sheath made of tanned Tauros leather. Standing up, he grabbed the knife off the shelf and turned it around in his paws, looking over its simple hilt before grabbing it and pulling the blade out.

The knife's surface was well polished, reflecting Tenebrae's image back at him like a mirror. He looked tired and haggard as expected, but there was also fear in his eyes. He hadn't wanted to admit it to himself, but especially after the previous night he had filled with those nightmares and visions... Tenebrae was more than a little scared of Caligo. The rational part of his mind insisted that he couldn't know if Caligo would actually harm him as they had Nox, but that did little to calm him.

Resolute, Tenebrae slid the knife back into its sheath before setting it down temporarily and removing his skull necklace. Cutting a small length of rope with the knife, he used it to tie the sheath against the furry mane around his neck, pressing it in deep so the rope and sheath were all but hidden amid the fur. When he stuck the knife into the sheath, however, the hilt stuck out fairly noticeably. Looking around again, he found a square-shaped, solid black bandana. Taking the cloth, he folded it into a triangle and tied it around his neck, letting the flap hang down over his mane to obscure the knife beneath.

Replacing his necklace around his neck so it hung down atop the bandana, Tenebrae checked and adjusted his bag one final time. Satisfied that he was prepared, the Zorua scrambled up a few shelves and leapt back out an open window above. Dropping down off the trading post's roof, Tenebrae immediately ran through the village to the gates. He had some time to kill before meeting with Caligo again.

The wastes of Blackdell were called wastes for a reason, little life could be found in them. The region was dry and arid, though at least not as hot as a desert would be. Most importantly, though, frequent volcanic activity in the past and even occasionally in the present had left the soil incapable of growing all but the hardiest of plants. Without a variety of plant life, Pokemon life was rather scarce.

Unless, that is, you knew where to look. Dark, shaded crevices and cracks that exposed underground springs and frequently were microcosms of bacterial life were good places to start. As Tenebrae wandered through the wastes, he ended up crawling over the small bumpy mounds that covered the ground in search of such hiding places.

It took several hours before Tenebrae found what he was looking for. Not for lack of such crevices, he had found plenty and even a couple with springs that he gladly drank from. Rather, the difficulty was finding one that was occupied. At last he came upon what he had been seeking. Peeking into the crack between a boulder and the ground, the Zorua found a small Sandshrew looking out at him.

When Tenebrae looked back at the Pokemon, the shrew quickly curled up into a tight ball and let out a hiss. Undeterred by that, Tenebrae reached in and placed a paw on the Pokemon. It rocked around trying to get out from underneath the paw, but Tenebrae just rolled it out and into the light. He pursed his lips as he stared down at the small, curled Pokemon, estimating that it couldn't be too old.

With the curled up Sandshrew held under one paw, he reached up to his neck and underneath his new bandana with the other. Grabbing the knife handle there, he slowly pulled the blade out of his sheath. The Sandshrew shivered at the sound, making Tenebrae pause. If it was familiar with knives, than it meant it had encountered his people before. Perhaps that was why it was alone, without a parent to protect it.

Tenebrae thought of that as he held the knife in his paw, looking from it down to the Sandshrew. He really didn't like killing, but in a situation like this... He had to be ready, be prepared for Caligo, and able to do what it would take to keep him away from Nox, forever. This Sandshrew? It was just a feral Pokemon, lacking any intelligence or sentience.

Tenebrae set the knife down on the ground, rolling the Sandshrew ball around until its edges were exposed. Gripping the Pokemon's bottom in one paw and its head in the other, Tenebrae forced it open, laying the shrew out on its back. It tried its hardest to resist, but Tenebrae was able to overpower it. He moved himself around to sit partially on the shrew's chest, holding it down and preventing it from curling up again.

The desperate Pokemon began to thrash its arms in the air, Tenebrae ignoring the struggles and placing a paw on its neck, pressing down firmly. He watched coldly as it began to choke and breathe raggedly, its arms slowing and falling to the ground. With it calmed down, the Zorua reached down and picked up the knife again, looking between its sharp edges and the Sandshrew's exposed, soft, vulnerable belly beneath him.

This was wrong, Tenebrae kept thinking. He shouldn't do this, he shouldn't be planning any of this. Yes, this was just a mere feral, but it had shown no aggression to deserve to die. And Caligo... Who was Tenebrae to decide Caligo's fate? A tribunal could be arranged, but of course that would require proof. Killing Caligo himself was of course much faster, and to get there he had to acclimate himself to killing...

Tenebrae's paws shook and he almost dropped the knife as he imagined it plunging into the Sandshrew, of the innocent Pokemon's blood dripping off the blade. Breathing heavily, Tenebrae closed his eyes and raised his shaking arm, he had to do this. Then he thrust down.

Slowly Tenebrae opened his eyes and looked down at what he had done. The Sandshrew was deathly still, but not actually dead. He had missed. The knife had plunged down to the Sandshrew's side instead, narrowly missing it and sticking into the hard ground; he was lucky it hadn't snapped and broken. "I... I can't..." Tenebrae murmured, releasing his grip on the knife and holding his paws up to look at them. "Nox, I'm sorry..."

 _"Oh, look at you now. So angry, so wrathful, and what of it? A sniveling baby who can't even kill a feral?"_

Startled by the words in his head, Tenebrae looked up. An image of Caligo appeared to stand in front of him, the colorful markings Caligo usually wore now a single color: dark crimson. It seemed to ooze and bubble, pulsing around Caligo like blood through a body. The foreign Zorua sneered at Tenebrae, Caligo's eyes wide and merciless.

 _"Oh, so you want to kill me, is that right? You think you'll just come up to me, lure me out alone, stab me and leave me for dead? Then you'll head back home, reconnect with Nox and tell her that I'll never be there to hurt her ever again. You'll be her protector, her savior. You'll get your girl, and I'll be dead. I got your plan all figured out there, huh? I have to tell you, it's a pretty awful plan, not least because I know you can't do it."_

Tenebrae knew it wasn't real. The voice and vision alike were in his head, a product of his tiredness and bubbling fury towards Caligo. Even still, the words bit at Tenebrae and left him speechless. Feeling hopeless, the weak Zorua looked down to the Sandshrew he held restrained beneath him and the knife stuck in the ground beside it.

 _"Things were going oh so great for you but then you just had to go and fuck it all up, am I right? You HAD your girl, but if it hadn't been for your carelessness and, oh, let's not forget Nero... I suppose he's the cunt who did all this to you, huh? But no, you don't get to clear yourself of blame that easily! You refused to stand up to him, and you let yourself get caught. There's no one to blame but you. It's your own damn fault you lost her. And now... She's mine. Nothing a weakling who's more interested in exploring than the proud life of a hunter can do about it."_

Shakily, Tenebrae reached for the knife. Yet as he was about to grab it he flinched, thought of its cold blade plunging into flesh once again freezing him. "I... I can't... Please..."

 _"Please what? Go away? Leave your life and let you have that bitch of a girlfriend back again? Sorry, no can do bud! She's mine now, I've sunk my claws in quite literally, along with oh so much more if you get my drift. Ah, but you've done that too. It's not quite the same if it's not the first time, huh? I take what I can though, and when she came running to me to look for comfort in the absence of her precious EX-boyfriend, I was all too eager to oblige."_

Tenebrae whimpered, withering under the harsh words that his own mind, his own subconscious was throwing at him. He tried for the knife again and faltered once more, tears coming to his eyes. No... No... This wasn't how this was supposed to go. He was supposed to kill the Sandshrew, see how it feels to kill, prepare himself for tonight. Not this, anything but this.

 _"How pathetic... I can see why Nero is so disappointed in you. And your mom, that Umbra? So doting, caring... The ideal mother, but powerless to stand against the might of Nero! Ah, but don't you worry my dear TENY, I'm sure that deep down she's just as tired of treating you like a child. Oh, if only you could just grow up and leave already like anyone else your age would have! But no, you just hold her back, refusing to act your age or grow up. Look at you here! Killing is one of the staples of your tribe, of their proud hunters! Yet you can't even kill a simple, defenseless Sandshew. Ah, dear Teny, what a failure you've turned out to be."_

Teny... Nox's nickname for him. Tenebrae sniffled and worked to hold back tears as he heard that name inside his head. He was doing this for her, all of this for her, and he was failing her. This whole idea to kill Caligo, to put him down, it was all to save Nox from him. But... Perhaps...

Tenebrae's eyes widened as the realization dawned on him. He had been focused on Caligo, not Nox, transfixed on him to the point of obsession. What had begun as wanting to save Nox, to protect her, had turned into something else entirely. Little had he thought of Nox, his love, the one he so wanted to protect from Caligo. Teny, Teny...

 _"Teny..."_

The voice was different. Startled, Tenebrae looked up to find not Caligo, but Nox standing there now. She looked unharmed, uninjured, and as he looked upon her she smiled back at him.

 _"Oh, Teny... What will you do without me? If you give up, if you fail, you can never be with me again, you know. Caligo has me, and he won't let go until you finish this. So please, Teny... Save me."_

"N-Nox..." Tenebrae stuttered, looking at her. She gave him a nod and vanished.

Tenebrae looked back down to the ground, surprised to find his paw was clutched around the hilt of the knife and that the Sandshrew hadn't managed to escape yet. Carefully he drew the blade out of the ground, looking once more at his reflection in it. The knife was scratched and marred now, distorting his reflection. The edges were still sharp. Then Tenebrae looked back down to the Sandshrew, who remained quiet as if it hoped that the Zorua would forget it was there.

Once more Tenebrae raised the knife, positioning it over the shrew's chest, about where he estimated its heart would be. He felt his arms start to shake again, but he drew the image of Nox back to his mind consciously this time, glancing up at her. She smiled again and once more nodded supportively.

"Nox... I'll save you..." Tenebrae whispered.

He plunged the blade down. There was a squeal and thrash of pain. Blood spurted up. The Sandshrew died.

* * *

Four more. Tenebrae left the dead Sandshrew where he had killed it, continuing to search for more Pokemon. Gradually, he found them. An Ekans, another Sandshrew, a female Nidoran, and a Nincada. There were others he had to pass up, typically larger Pokemon he was unsure he could handle on his own or parents looking after their young. Each of those four small, vulnerable Pokemon that he did find alone... One by one he plunged his knife into them, coldly watching as they died by his paws.

As the helpless bug fell dead underneath him, Tenebrae stood up and looked at his knife now. It was caked in blood; he hadn't bothered to wash it off yet, nor the blood he had on his paws, blending in to his red fur. Silently he looked around for some sort of water source, finding a small spring not far away bubbling deep in an earthy crack. He squeezed his way in, his eyes dim as he first took a drink of the water and filled his canteen before bathing the knife and his fur in it.

Holding up the freshly cleaned, yet permanently marred blade of the knife Tenebrae was surprised to find that he felt nothing. Rather, it was as if a blanket of numbness had settled over his mind. Tenebrae stared at the blade for what seemed an eternity, looking at his reflection in it. Amid his wet fur, his white chalk patterns dimmed and washed out from the bathing, his eyes no longer looked to be his own.

He had killed. He had taken not just one life, but five. The fact that they had no intelligence, no conscious thoughts beyond their base desires and instinct to survive meant nothing. He could have resisted, he could have turned away, he could have sought out some other means to pry Caligo away from Nox. Yet here he was, having taken five lives in preparation of taking one more.

His legs felt weak. Tenebrae quickly wiped the knife dry as best he could against his fur before slipping it back into its sheath, hidden among his mane beneath that black bandana. Letting his arms drop to his sides, Tenebrae stared up and out of the crack he was settled in at the sky above. His eyes felt heavy with tiredness and he let them fall closed. Nestled in the crack beside the spring that was now a dull red with blood, Tenebrae fell into a light sleep.

No dreams came to him, but no nightmares either; just pure, revitalizing sleep. Tenebrae woke a few hours later, his body sore from resting against hard stone in such a cramped position but his mind now clear and focused. He thought of taking a drink from the spring, but blood still ran through it. With a sigh the Zorua pulled himself up, shook out the cramps in his limbs, and crawled out of the crack.

The sun was past it peak, on its way to setting. Glancing around to orient himself and glancing at the compass and map he had taken, Tenebrae set off on his way back to the village. By his estimate based on what he had seen the other day, Caligo would be leaving the Shaman's within an hour or two. Tenebrae was determined to catch him before Caligo could get together with Nox again for the night; he wanted this to be over, and for her to never have to be victim to Caligo again.

Of course, it was easy to think that and want it. As Tenebrae walked he was keenly aware of the knife pressing against his neck, and of the lives it had already taken. If Tenebrae got what he wanted, it will have claimed one more life by the time the night was over. Fail that, and he was worried that not only would Nox continue to be hurt by Caligo, but that his own life would be at risk were Caligo to discover what he knew.

Forcing the sullenness out of his expression, Tenebrae just managed to pull back on his emotional mask as he passed through the village gates. He gave a nod and smiled at the guards, continuing past the huts and buildings of the village. There was the temptation to stop by home and maybe see if he could touch up his faded markings from where he had washed himself up, but he resisted.

Tenebrae knew he couldn't return home now, not until the night was over. It was silly, but he felt like returning to such a safe, secure place would be akin to admitting failure and giving up. Instead he returned to the village plaza and the same spot on the platform he had talked to Caligo at before. Then, he waited.

It didn't take long. Soon he heard steps coming up behind him and turned to face them, finding Caligo himself standing there. Amusingly, the bag from the previous night still hung at Caligo's side to match the new one Tenebrae now wore; so much for needing to replace it after all. The colorfully-marked Zorua smiled at Tenebrae as if they were friends, oblivious to what had transpired since the night before. "Ah, Tenebrae! Was hoping I'd find you here, where'd you get to last night?"

Tenebrae gave a bored shrug. "Ah, when I got back my mom caught me and hauled me away. Sorry I didn't get to stick around to brag about how much faster I am!"

"Pfft, as if," Caligo scoffed. "The only reason you beat me back is because you had a head start and didn't have to carry this!" He gestured at the bag as he said that. "Speaking of which, I was planning to give this back to you but it seems you got another, eh?"

Tenebrae nodded, quickly devising a cover story. "Yeah, I had another at home. I thought this time we should both be burdened, after all..." Tenebrae grinned, pulling himself to his feet and approaching Caligo. He leaned in close before jabbing at the other Zorua's forehead with a paw. "I apparently gotta prove that I really am the fastest!"

"This your way of asking if I wanna go out again?" Caligo smirked, winking at Tenebrae and batting the paw away from him. "All right, I did expect you'd want to go back. I'll make sure you can't beat me this time!"

With that Caligo ran off, breaking into a sprint as he leapt down off the platform and ran through the village. Caught off guard Tenebrae was slow to react, but quickly followed behind Caligo. He didn't really care about winning their little race, just so long as they got out to the ruins without being bothered. Still, he had to keep up the act.

Dust kicked up behind Tenebrae as he ran, ducking around people in his path and even between a few Zoroark's legs. He heard shouts of annoyance rising up behind him, but he didn't turn to look. His eyes were instead locked on Caligo's own trail of dust ahead of him, growing closer as Tenebrae pushed his legs harder.

Just as Tenebrae reached Caligo's side, the two Zorua blew through the village gates. They glanced at each other and smirked, just before Tenebrae pushed himself a little harder and began to inch ahead of Caligo. With a scowl, Tenebrae's opponent veered off to the side, their paths diverging as the ground began to grow rocky and ragged.

Caligo seemed to prefer sticking to mostly flat terrain, running around hills that got in his way and avoiding shallow depressions in the ground. Tenebrae on the other hand embraced the bumpy ground, clambering up the small hills only to leap off their top and come sliding down the other side, the small slopes giving him a boost to his speed to counteract the slower ascents. When they came to a rocky field, Tenebrae leaped atop one of the small boulders and jumped from one to the other. He glanced behind him as Caligo, weaving between them, trailed behind.

Not far from the ruins, a thought flashed through Tenebrae's mind. Surely they were far enough away now, right? There was no need to keep this up anymore, to try and pretend he was Caligo's friend. The thought sent him stumbling, a gust of wind signaling Caligo taking the opportunity to surge ahead and pass Tenebrae by.

Scowling, Tenebrae picked himself up and resumed running, chasing after Caligo now. As he ran he felt the knife bouncing against his neck, a constant reminder of his purpose out here. He wasn't Caligo's friend, far from it. He was here to kill Caligo, and for the sake of Nox, he swore to himself that he would not fail.

* * *

Caligo beat Tenebrae to the ruins by a sizable margin, the Zorua leaning against the wall of the cave-like entrance as he waited. When Tenebrae finally caught up and came running past him, Caligo let out a triumphant laugh and thumped a paw against his chest. "See, told you that was fluke! Ain't no one gonna be beating me!"

Tenebrae openly glared at him, figuring that there was no point trying to hide his anger after a remark like that. "I fell back there, man! If it wasn't for that..."

Caligo pushed off the wall, shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head. "A race is a race and falls are fair game. You just got SLAMMED, my brother!"

Tenebrae gritted his teeth, feeling his paw twitching in temptation to pull his knife out and finish Caligo off right then and there. There was no point in waiting, he might as well get it over with, but this perhaps wasn't the best time. He wanted the element of surprise, to ensure Caligo couldn't protect himself.

"Hey, what's with that bandana?" Caligo suddenly remarked. "You weren't wearing that yesterday, were you?"

Tenebrae paused at that comment, suddenly realizing he had raised his paw and had reached towards the bandana and the knife underneath. Instead he grabbed at the cloth and straightened it out, carefully settling his skull necklace in place down over it. "Just felt like mixing things up, got this as a gift a while back and haven't really worn it."

Caligo slowly nodded. "I see... Well, it looks good on you."

With a sigh, Tenebrae forced himself to say, "Thanks. Now come on, we can pick off where we left off."

The two descended down through the twisting tunnels of the underground ruins. Tenebrae lagged behind a few feet, watching Caligo walking in front of him. More than once he reached to his neck and the knife hidden there, but every time he stopped himself. One small thing would be off, and Tenebrae was convinced that everything had to be perfect before he made his move.

Caligo would be talking, or glancing back over his shoulder. Maybe they were climbing over some fallen rubble, Tenebrae not wanting to lose his balance. Or perhaps they were looking at some ancient piece of art, which of course Tenebrae wouldn't want damaged by Caligo's death throes. It didn't help that Tenebrae found himself carrying a lantern this time, holding it in his teeth and making any sudden movements difficult for fear of scattering oil and fire.

Of course he knew it was all excuses. As Caligo leaned over a stone engraving to exam the figures depicted on it, Tenebrae once more hung back. He went so far as to wrap his paw around the knife's hilt, staring at Caligo's furred-back and pinpointing the precise spot where he could slip a blade in through the ribs and pierce the heart. He had examined Zorua skeletons before and even managed to sneak a peek at a few corpses, so he was fairly confident in his anatomy knowledge.

Yet, he just couldn't do it. Tenebrae could make all the excuses in the world about not wanting to splatter blood over that engraving, but he knew that wasn't the reason. In the end, he was nervous. He wanted to do this, he wanted to rid himself and Nox of this abusing bastard who had the audacity to play at Tenebrae's own game with the whole trying to act friendly thing. Yet, this wasn't some random feral Pokemon, not a mindless Sandshrew. It was an actual sentient person, with his own thoughts and consciousness. It could be argued that he hadn't taken the life of those ferals as they had no proper life to begin with, but with Caligo there was no doubting it.

"You just going to stand back there forever?" Caligo's voice broke through Tenebrae's thoughts, snapping him back to attention.

"Sorry, just thinking," Tenebrae said, his voice sullen. He walked forward slowly, looking down at the drawn figures of ancient people that, if it weren't for his current conflict, he would normally find quite fascinating. As it was, he could barely focus on them without his thoughts returning to the hidden knife and its target, beating away in the Zorua's chest beside him.

"You sure have been doing a lot of that today," Caligo mused, brushing some dust away and adjusting the lantern he had set on the stone. "Is it that girl again?"

Tenebrae's ears twitched, a motion that went unnoticed by Caligo. "Yeah, I suppose you can say that."

"Man, girls... But hey, we're friends here yeah?" Caligo glanced over, raising a paw and setting it down on Tenebrae's shoulder. "So don't worry about her and just have fun. Now come on, what do you think this means?"

As Caligo gestured at the engraving, Tenebrae inwardly sighed and forced his fleeting attention to focus on the drawing. For a little bit of time it started to seem like the previous day, when the two Zorua actually seemed to become true friends; at least until Tenebrae discovered Caligo's little secret that night. Still sullen and quiet, Tenebrae nonetheless managed to piece together some theories, contrasting them against Caligo's own to placate him. They eventually left the room with the engraving and continued winding through the tunnels, checking out various side paths they hadn't ventured down before.

In the end, the tunnels of the ruins all seemed to lead to the same place: that large cavern deep underground. They hadn't reached it yesterday, so Caligo was awed by the sight. Tenebrae could even sense a bit of fear and discomfort in him at how far away the stone walls and ceiling were, out of the lantern's unfocused pool of light.

Tenebrae could feel himself unconsciously gritting his teeth as he followed Caligo into the cavern. They were getting close, too close, to that secret spot he and Nox had spent the night at. He didn't like being sentimental, but the thought of Caligo invading that little room, of seeing the supplies they had left behind for future expeditions and nights out that never came...

"Hey, Tenebrae, come look at this."

His heart froze. Slowly Tenebrae turned towards Caligo, finding him walking behind a familiar, tall stalagmite. Caligo leaned down to look at something before popping his head back out and repeating, "Come on, it looks like there's a little cave back here!"

"Imagine that..." Tenebrae slowly spoke, his voice gone flat and monotone as he took his time in walking over. If Caligo noticed the change in Tenebrae's demeanor, he didn't show it.

By the time Tenebrae reached the stalagmite and walked around it to the hidden nook it obscured, Caligo was already crawling through the small tunnel. Grinding his teeth together, Tenebrae leaned down and poked his head in, staring at the other Zorua's backside as Caligo made his way through. "Was this naturally formed? Maybe someone dug it out..." Caligo called back, posing questions without understanding just what he was getting into here.

Tenebrae was all too well aware of the knife bumping against his neck as he began to crawl through as well, pushing his lantern ahead and following after Caligo. His mind flashed back to that night, with him and Nox crawling through the small passage and finding the cave on the other side. When Tenebrae emerged from the small tunnel and took in the cave, his yearnings for that night only intensified.

Nothing had changed, everything was where they had left it. The candles they had set around, the pack of supplies they had left behind, the artifacts they had used to decorate and spruce up the little room as if it was a home. Memories welled up inside Tenebrae's head, memories of his night with Nox and how they had sworn this would be their private spot, just for them.

Now, here he was with Caligo. An outsider, an intruder. Caligo looked around the items scattered through the small room with a puzzled expression, while Tenebrae scowled unseen at his back. "What's... What's all this? Has someone else been here before?"

This wasn't right. Caligo shouldn't be here. He wasn't ALLOWED here. No, especially not him. Especially not someone who cared so little for Nox, who dragged her out at night to beat her up and do who knows what horrors to her. Tenebrae raised his paw, clutching the hilt of his hidden knife. Without a hint of hesitation he drew it from the sheath, taking a deep breath. This was it, this was the time. He hated to spoil his and Nox's secret spot like this, but it had to be done.

Standing up on his hind legs to hold the knife as he walked, Tenebrae slowly approached Caligo from behind. The puzzled Zorua observing the room and trying to figure it out was oblivious to Tenebrae's intentions. With Caligo's back turned, Tenebrae had the element of surprise he wanted. His eyes scanned across Caligo's back, running up the spine. Yes... there it was, that little spot where he knew he could slip a blade between the ribs.

Wordlessly Tenebrae raised himself over Caligo, holding the knife at the ready. He could feel his breathing slow down as he held his breath, his heart on the contrary speeding up. It almost felt like it would pound out of his chest. He was going to do it, really, truly do it. For Nox, and his own's sake... Yes, this was right. He would rid the world of Caligo's evil machinations, of his blatant abuse towards Nox. Nothing held Tenebrae back now. A sly grin slipped across his face.

And he plunged the knife down.

The strike was perfect. The cold steel sunk into Caligo's flesh, slipping between the ribs as Tenebrae pushed it deep, as deep as it could go. All the way up to the hilt. It made a soft squelching sound as it cut through muscle, blood spurting up from the wound. Tenebrae grinned as he saw Caligo's body go stiff at the surprise stab, the wounded Zorua's eyes widening as his head slowly turned to glance back at Tenebrae, almost rickety in its motion, like a puppet.

Caligo's mouth hung slack as he looked back at Tenebrae holding the knife in his back. It made small motions as if trying to speak, to put words together. After a moment that seemed to last an eternity, something finally managed to come out. "T-T-Tene... Brae... W-wha-why?"

There was no emotion on Tenebrae's face. Not disgust, not remorse, not glee, excitement, or relief. His face completely blank, he stared back at the dying Zorua, feeling Caligo's blood seep out around the paw that held the knife into his back. "This is for Nox," Tenebrae slowly spoke, the girl's name seeming to elicit an emotion in him finally. Anger flickered across Tenebrae's face and he let out a growl. "You bastard..."

"N-N-ox? Bu... But..." If Caligo had more to say, he never got the chance. He suddenly coughed, a wad of blood splattering on the ground before him. Then his body shook one final time before slumping over.

Caligo was dead.

Tenebrae held the knife in the dead Zorua's back for a moment more before slowly pulling it out. Coldly he looked down at the mess before him, at Caligo's blood-splattered corpse. He had been worried he'd feel bad about this, that there'd be regret and remorse over killing him. There was nothing. Just that brief flare of anger amidst a void of emotion.

There was no reason to feel anything, after all. This was something he had to do, something that had to be done. The fact that Caligo had to have died was as clear to Tenebrae as the fact you had to eat to live. You didn't question it, and now that Tenebrae looked back it was silly of him to be so nervous about doing it.

Tenebrae dropped the bloody knife and let it fall onto Caligo's corpse, leaning down to the side to pick up the lantern he had set down. When he turned back to face the small cave's entrance, he almost dropped the valuable light source out of surprise.

A third Zorua stood there, backed against the small tunnel that led out to the cavern. Slightly smaller than Tenebrae, with a feminine build and similar white chalk patterns, he instantly recognized her. "Nox..." He said in disbelief, reaching up to rub his eyes with his clean paw. Was he imagining her as he had before?

Her fur stood practically on end and tears came to her eyes as she looked at the bloody corpse behind Tenebrae. Her body shook until her legs gave out, Nox collapsing on the ground. "C-Caligo..." She muttered, eyes locked on his lifeless body.

Tenebrae quickly composed himself. This wasn't a vision, a hallucination, or his imagination. Nox was really here, but why? It didn't matter. "Hey, Nox," he said with a grin. "I'm sorry for not seeing you sooner, but I ran into some problems with my dad, and then met, well..." He gave a nod at the corpse. "But I took care of him for you, see? I found out what he was doing to you; you don't need to worry anymore!"

"You... You..." Nox blinked as if trying to clear her eyes of tears, but too many came. Her eyes flickered to Tenebrae, his surprise visible as he saw neither joy nor relief in those eyes but instead a quiet anger. "You... Killed him... You... Why..." Nox made a choking sound, slowly crawling over to Caligo's body. She placed her paws on him, rolling his stiffening corpse over so she could look into his face.

"Caligo..." She whispered, her tears dripping onto his bloody fur as she leaned down and nuzzled sadly against his cold neck. "Why... Tenebrae, why?!" She practically roared his full name, the first time Tenebrae could remember her saying it to him, but her voice was muffled as she buried her face into the cold and dead fur. She heaved and sobbed for several minutes longer, leaving Tenebrae in his growing confusion before she clenched her paws into fists and pulled her head up, staring at Tenebrae with enraged, tear-stained eyes.

"Why did you kill my cousin?!"


	7. Shattered Innocence

**-II-** _ **A Lover's Folly**_ **-II-**

Chapter 7: Shattered Innocence

Nox didn't get to see Caligo much growing up. She knew that her family was divided between the Atrum and Nigrum tribes, but to her it was just a meaningless fact. The existence of family elsewhere meant little for her in the present, nor did the existence of an older cousin born to the sister of Nox's mother.

She first met Caligo around the age of eight, when his parents visited the Atrum tribe to meet with family. Having seen the opportunity for the younger generation to meet, they brought Caligo along. Nox was fascinated by him and the fusion of family familiarity and exotic foreignness he represented. They soon bonded and became fast friends, but alas their time would soon be up and he returned to the Nigrum tribe with his parents.

Still, in the end though she would continue to have opportunities to see him. Every year his parents would return to Atrum with Caligo in tow, Nox progressively cherishing and looking forward to those visits. Unfortunately, they stopped when she was around the age of fourteen. Caligo's parents could no longer manage the long journey between villages on their own due to their age, and so Caligo and Nox's friendship was forced to fall by the wayside.

This year, that all changed. When last she had seen Caligo, he had told Nox of how he looked up to the shamans of their tribes and how he wished to follow in their footsteps. It was a proud, ambitious goal to be sure, but Nox was certain he could do it if he worked hard enough. That work appeared to have paid off when Caligo showed up at the Atrum village gates all on his own, having made the lonesome trip from Nigrum unattended as part of his pilgrimage.

Nox was elated to see Caligo again! It was nearly four years since they had seen each other last, which to them seemed like an eternity. He arrived the day after she spent the night at the ruins with Tenebrae and she was still high with her love for him. All too eager, she couldn't help but tell him of her handsome, strong, adventurous boyfriend. She felt like she was a kid again, but he lapped up every word she said.

The two cousins continued to hang out together over the following days. With Caligo occupied with the Shaman during the day itself, they were forced to meet up at night. They found themselves taking walks outside of the village, and it was on those walks that Caligo proposed the idea of teaching Nox some basic self-defense. In her village, Zorua didn't get much chance to learn how to fight until they evolved. Male Zorua, such as Tenebrae, were at least allowed to learn some techniques but females didn't get such a privilege. Caligo's village, apparently, allowed for the training of Zorua even before they evolved.

Nox accepted his offer, and so it was that each night they would head outside the village and practice fighting under the moonlight for a short while. Nox was less than impressive, with Caligo consistently holding the upper hand over her. She would frequently return from such exercises beaten and bruised, but she didn't mind. It felt good to learn how to fight; perhaps she and Tenebrae could even spar sometime on a much closer level than Caligo was to her.

Oh, Tenebrae... Why did she never tell Caligo her boyfriend's name? All the times they spoke, from when she first spilled her guts about her beloved boyfriend to the training they had done the night before, she never once told Caligo Tenebrae's name. Maybe, if she had... Caligo never knew the Tenebrae he was hanging out with was in fact the boyfriend Nox mentioned so much, nor did Tenebrae know that Caligo was related to his own girlfriend. Nox didn't even know the two were hanging out together, not until it was too late.

She was looking for Caligo on that fateful day, asking if anyone had seen him. He stood out, so it wasn't hard. She found that he had run by and out of the village with another Zorua, said to be wearing a distinctive skull necklace. Nox instantly realized who that had to be: Tenebrae. She was surprised as she thought he was confined to his hut. She had asked his father, Nero, about his whereabouts previously. While he didn't seem to approve of her, Nero was forthcoming about Tenebrae's confinement.

The pieces began to fall into place then as she pondered what this meant. Curiously, she went to the hut she knew Tenebrae lived at and spoke to his mother, Umbra. She told Nox of the ruins Tenebrae had told her about, which Nox recognized as being the same ones they had spent the night at. Wasting no time, she set out after the two.

Nox didn't know what they were doing or planning, or were otherwise heading out to the ruins for. She figured that perhaps they were just going to explore and figured she could join them. Still, perhaps she knew then that something wasn't right. After all, if Umbra had let Tenebrae go, why hadn't he come to see her yet? Worry twisted in her heart as she ran across the wastes.

The ruins were surprisingly expansive despite having the one core tunnel that winded down through them. She took her time checking out the side rooms with the lantern she brought, but as she descended worry made her go faster and faster. She began to run faster and skip rooms all together, instinct telling her she already knew where to look.

So there it was that she found herself crawling through the small tunnel to the cave, coming out the other end to find Tenebrae standing in a pool of blood over Caligo's body. She was too late. If only she had told Caligo her boyfriend's name...

* * *

"N-Nox, I..." Tenebrae was at a loss for words, his jaw falling slack. Cousin? Nox's cousin? Why... How...

"Answer me!" she roared, a look unlike any he had seen before flaring in her eyes. She was angry at him, furious even.

"I... I did it for you..." Tenebrae meekly said, his voice quiet and weak. All the strength, all the courage he had built up to kill Caligo, it was all gone now. Drained out of him like the blood that ran over the stone ground. "I-I thought... He had stolen you... Abused you... Cousin?"

"Why would you think that?! Caligo!" Nox cried out, collapsing over the body again, her tears seeming to be without end.

Tenebrae fell backwards, his head hitting the wall and filling his vision with stars. He watched through blurry eyes as Nox pulled herself away from Caligo, stumbling backwards. She said something, Tenebrae saw her lips moving, but all he heard was a splitting sound like his head was exploding. As vision faded he saw her scurrying back through the tunnel, running away, leaving Tenebrae behind... Mud seemed to fill his mind and a darkness set over him as he drifted away from consciousness.

He didn't know how long he was out. Minutes, hours, a day? Down in the ruins without the sky, time meant little. When Tenebrae woke he found himself right where he had been left, slumped against the wall at the back of the cave, across from Caligo's dead body. He pried himself away from the stone, his body aching, head most of all. Holding up his dim lantern, he examined the body and found it cold as the floor, bones locked tight and unmoving. Blood had long since ceased to drip from the corpse, and what had pooled on the floor was now a dark crimson.

The Shaman had been right. Why hadn't he just gone to Nox from the start? Tenebrae pressed his lips together as he looked at Caligo, at the Zorua he had killed under mistaken pretenses. He had done it for Nox, everything for Nox... Yet it was all wrong, and now she truly did hate him. Her love for Tenebrae had never gone anywhere, not up until the moment he killed her cousin in coldblooded murder.

For some reason, Tenebrae began to laugh. He couldn't stop it even as he knew it was wrong and inappropriate, chuckles rising in his throat and building to a full-blown roar. He shouldn't be laughing, not here, not now, not after what happened, but the gravity of his error... How could he have been oh so very wrong? He had always thought he was smarter than that, but indeed, his wrath was truly cruel.

It was only when he realized that he couldn't go back to the village that he stopped laughing. He had never really thought of what would happen after he killed Caligo. He figured that Nox would understand why he did it and they would carry the secret of his murder to their graves. Not so anymore. Nox would probably report what he had done to the hunters or guards. If Tenebrae showed up at the village, they would surely kill him immediately. It was likely even that they would come here, to the ruins, hoping to catch him before he could leave.

His eyes went wide as he realized that. He had to move, he had already lost who knows how much time spent unconscious. Frantically he tried to come up with some idea of where to go, of what he could do now. He thought hard, digging through his memory until his eyes widened as a thought came to him. Perhaps, if he could go to The Guild... It was a long ways away, far across the continent of Varlaja, but would certainly be far enough to keep him safe from persecution. His mind set, he crawled out to the cavern through the hole to wash himself off.

Tenebrae made his way over to the bubbling spring of water in the corner. He recalled how he washed himself after killing the feral Pokemon, and how it had faded his markings. Setting his lantern down to the side, he splashed water over his body until the white chalk markings were all but gone. He felt a twinge of sadness as he realized he would never adorn himself with them again. Unfortunately, they were too recognizable outside of his tribe and could lead hunters that came after him right to his feet.

Returning to the cave, Tenebrae thought of what else he could do to alter his appearance. There was his skull necklace, Tenebrae raising his paw to his neck and running it over the bones as he thought of it. It was fairly distinctive, so if he truly wanted to change his identity he would have to get rid of it. The Zorua took it in his paws and made to pull it over his head, but froze in uncertainty. The necklace was special to him, could he really give it up so easily? Perhaps ridding himself of the markings would be enough.

With a sigh, Tenebrae let the necklace and the small skull hung on it fall back against his chest and the bandana he now wore. That bandana was something he could easily admit he wasn't too happy about wearing, so he reached around the back of his head and untied it. Tenebrae eyed the bandana for a moment, unsure what to do with it now. He could dispose of it, he supposed, but another idea came to him.

In his tribe, those who had committed crimes of some sort were branded with marks in their fur to warn others of what they had done. He couldn't exactly brand himself, but Tenebrae laid out the bandana and folded it into a strip of cloth which he then wrapped and tied around his front right paw; the same he had used to stab Caligo with. Others may not know what it meant, but it would serve to remind him of his own folly.

That left the matter of the knife.

Tenebrae was reluctant to pick it up again. It was caked in dried blood from where it had fallen besides Caligo. He put off having to deal with it until the last moment, instead going around the cave and grabbing a few supplies that had been left behind to stash in his bag for the journey. Yet, in the end, with his supplies gathered and the bag swung over his shoulder, he had to come back to the knife and deal with it. He could just leave it there he figured, but for some reason that didn't sit right with him. His mouth twisted into a grimace, Tenebrae reached down to pick up the knife.

The Zorua blinked in surprise as he held the bloodied blade. He had been expecting to feel something upon picking it up: perhaps regret or even horror at what he had done with it. Yet instead, all he felt was... That familiar sense of nothing. Tenebrae held the bloody knife up and examined it, reminding himself how he had used it to kill Caligo, and in doing so alienated himself from Nox and his tribe. That was bad, right? Of course it was bad! So... Why did he not feel bad?

The thought almost made him drop the knife again. He was shocked at his mistake, yes. He was upset and let down that after all this, he still couldn't be with Nox. He knew what he did was wrong, that it was horrible, and if he had the chance again he was sure he would not have done it. So why, then, did he not feel BAD? He should be breaking down now, he should be crying, sobbing, unable to do anything. Instead he had cleaned himself off after admitting his own exile and prepared to leave on a journey across the continent, all with an utter lack of empathy towards the life he had taken.

No, not just Caligo. Those ferals too. They were beneath him, of course, mere mindless beasts. Yet all together, he felt nothing for the six pointless lives he had taken that day which could have been avoided if only Tenebrae wasn't so stubborn and wrathful. As he held the murder weapon he closed his eyes and pulled into his mind the feeling of it plunging through flesh, slicing through and cutting into a Pokemon's heart. He could practically feel the death throes again, and was surprised to find that, indeed, even as he recalled how that felt... He still didn't feel bad.

It was a curious feeling, or lack thereof. Before today, he had been so opposed to killing. He had despised the mere thought of it, and indeed that was largely why he did not wish to become a hunter. Yet, now... Having killed six Pokemon, including a sentient much like himself... He found that he was no longer afraid to kill and indeed couldn't bring himself to feel anything towards the deaths.

Tenebrae chuckled lightly at the bizarre realization that as terrible an act as he had done, it had helped him get over that little hurdle he had. Nero would be proud of him, at least if Tenebrae could ever see his own father again without being killed on the spot. He clutched the knife in his mouth, scowling around the taste of blood and pushed the lantern ahead of him towards the hole in the wall, about to crawl through the small passage one final time.

He gave a last glance at Caligo's body before he left. It did feel sort of wrong to leave him here like this, but Tenebrae wasn't sure what he could do with it. He couldn't exactly bury the corpse in solid rock, and he figured that whoever came after him would probably want to bring it back to the village. With that final glance Tenebrae turned back to the tunnel and crawled through it, giving the knife a quick wash in the spring to clean the blood off and replacing it in its sheath. He untied that from around his neck and stuffed it in his bag; like the bandana wrapped around his leg, he would keep the knife as a memento of what happened here.

Then, he was off. Clutching the lantern in his teeth, Tenebrae ran up the twisting tunnel to the ruin's exit. Light was starting to set, but Tenebrae was used to traveling at night anyway. He doused the lantern and hooked it to his bag, drawing from it the map and a compass he had taken from the trading post and now wouldn't be able to return.

Tenebrae's journey to The Guild would be long and hard, but at least he had a destination in mind. He had heard of The Guild while growing up, and he wasn't ashamed to say that such stories of far off lands were probably what piqued his curiosity towards exploring in the first place. First he would travel to Redhaven, the capital of Blackdell. He had never been there before, indeed he had never been anywhere aside from his tribe's village and the surrounding land, but knew that he would be able to get passage to the rest of Varlaja from Redhaven.

Of course, he had none of the money the civilized world used and little of worth to trade, so actually getting passage would be somewhat difficult. Tenebrae expected he'd probably have to sneak onto a caravan without paying; fortunately he was quite adapt at stealth thanks to his talent with illusions. Ideally he would find a caravan traveling south, through the region known as Freyden to its own capital: Fairkeep.

Tenebrae had read of it in books: the city was said to be a center of trade and travel, a hub from which one could reach anywhere in Varlaja. Perhaps he could get by there in Fairkeep, but in a city where trade ruled and which was so heavily split between the poor and the wealthy, a poor foreigner such as him would be left floundering in the streets. No, his destination was farther south, amid the plains of Edheren.

Sentinel's Watch was an old fort, built high atop a coastal cliff to the southwest of Edheren. While the fort's origins were shrouded in myth, the guild that was headquartered there was well known even as far north as Blackdell amid tribes who had limited contact with the outside world. The Guild had no formal name, though some called it The Varlajan Guild or even The Sentinel's Guild after the fort it was headquartered in. It had many branches to work in—researchers, mercenaries, explorers even—and was said to welcome any Pokemon brave enough to face the unknown.

There, The Guild at Sentinel's Watch, would be Tenebrae's destination. No longer able to return home, he turned his mind to the outside world. He would travel out and explore as he had always wanted. He would put the past behind him and embrace the future. He didn't know where that future would lead him now, just that in the end, perhaps his mistake had been worth it. This was what he always wanted, after all. All it took to leave and strike out on his own was five dead ferals, one murdered Zorua, an alienated girlfriend, an exile from his own village, and his own shattered innocence.

Orienting himself in the direction of Redhaven with the help of his navigation tools, Tenebrae set off through the wastes, walking towards his future. He couldn't help but stop a smile from crawling across his face; yes, this would be worth it. He would make sure of that.

* * *

Umbra didn't know how long she grieved, her eyes blurred with tears, but she eventually backed away from the corpse. She wiped her eyes dry as she looked down at it. Her son, her only son, dead...

Only... As soon as her eyes were clear and she could see the body for what it was, did she realize her mistake. Umbra let out a sigh of pained relief as she observed the colorful markings that appeared to be made with berry juice over the Zorua's fur, and his lack of any sort of bone necklace as Tenebrae wore. Even if he had somehow changed his markings, he would never have parted with that silly necklace he received from his father. For all Tenebrae's talk about hating his dad, he never did leave the hut without that necklace.

Umbra heard people coming from behind her, a small group of Zoroark crawling through the hole and filing into the room. She turned to face them as they approached, finding none other than her husband at their head. She had received word that he was returning, and wasn't too surprised to see him here.

"Tenebrae did this?" Nero coldly asked as he observed the cold body.

That was news for Umbra. Her mouth opened slightly as she looked for words before responding, "He did?"

Nero nodded grimly, walking forward as Umbra stepped to the side. The large, scarred Zoroark leaned down to examine the body, finding the single entry wound in its back. Then he looked around the cave. "He took the knife with him that he did this with."

Umbra sighed and raised a paw to her head. This wasn't much better than if it had been Tenebrae who was lying on the ground dead. "He's gone, then."

Nero nodded, motioning for one of his men to take the body. The rest crawled back out to the cavern, Nero waiting until the last had left from the cave as they pushed the corpse ahead of them. Leaving just the two parents behind, they found themselves looking at each other in silence until Umbra finally broke it. "He took after you more than we thought."

Nero gave a nod and turned to leave. Just before he faced away from her, Umbra could swear though that she saw the faintest glimpse of a smile on her stoic husband's face. Tenebrae was a murderer and would be executed if ever he returned to their tribe, that was without doubt, but in the end... Nero could finally be proud of their son.

 _ **End of Part 2**_

* * *

 _And that's that! Sorry for this short chapter, I just couldn't end chapter 6 any earlier as I think it ends on the perfect spot, nor is there much more I could add to this one without it being filler. Still, all in all Part 2 turned out a good deal longer than Part 1, despite my initial estimates. I hope everyone enjoyed it even if it was different than Part 1, I had a lot of trouble writing this in spots because it's very much different from anything I've written before for me too. Part 3 will be getting back to Shrike though and as with Part 1 will be heavily based off something I've already written last year, so hopefully that won't cause as many problems!_

 _Feel free to leave reviews or contact me with what you thought of it, and I'll see you again once I've finished with Part 3!_

 _-Shrike Alvaron_


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